


Clouds above Inkopolis

by GogglesXKun, Vanta22exual



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Angst, Gen, M/M, This is honestly just one big angstfest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-07-10 05:46:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 30,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15943007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GogglesXKun/pseuds/GogglesXKun, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanta22exual/pseuds/Vanta22exual
Summary: When an unforeseen accident leads to Goggles' death, his friends will have to cope with their little ray of sunshine no longer lighting up their lives.  Things go from bad to worse when suspicious figures are spotted lurking around Inkopolis and graves are found to be disturbed.





	1. Death of Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank [Writings-From-Unknown](https://writings-from-unknown.tumblr.com) for writing this together with me, go check out some of their writing, its great!

"Hurry up, we're gonna be late _again_!" 

 

Glasses was tapping his foot impatiently, watching as Goggles dashed over to him, the goofy Inkling flashing the team leader a beaming smile before stretching a little. From the looks of it, he must have woken up only a short while ago, his tentacles were in disarray, the band holding them together seeming a little too loose on them. "Sorry sorry, Grandma had to make sure that I took my lunch with me." 

 

It was a perfectly normal day in Inkopolis, people were bustling about, Inklings and Octolings alike all rushing to one place or another, be it for work, play, or other affairs. The two members of the Blue Team were making their way towards the Square, where they had promised to meet Bobble and Headphones. However, due to Goggles sleeping in once again, they were running late, not an uncommon occurrence, but still bothersome. 

 

The two of them rushed over busy streets, Glasses almost dragging Goggles behind him since the latter still wasn't quite awake enough to run on his own. However, just as they crossed the last street separating them from the entrance to the square, disaster struck. 

 

Perhaps it was some faulty wiring, perhaps this particular Jelly had forgotten to get his car inspected, or perhaps it was just the world deciding that it needed to send everyone a grim reminder of their own mortality. In the end, it didn't matter, everything happened so fast that nobody really knew how or why it happened. 

 

The Jelly approached the red traffic light a little too fast, and as they tried to hit the breaks, they found them not working, which ended up with the car rushing into the pedestrians crossing the road, and then into the oncoming traffic that was crossing from side to side. 

 

The world seemed to have slowed down as Glasses and Goggles had moved to cross, one moment, the serious Inkling had been lecturing Goggles about getting up earlier, and in the next he found himself faced with a car headed straight for the two of them. Before Glasses could react, he found himself suddenly shoved out of the way, turning just in time to see the car impact Goggles and fling him into oncoming traffic together with a few other unfortunate souls. 

 

The sound of metal screeching against metal would forever burrow itself into the poor Inklings mind as he watched cars trying to evade the wreck that only kept growing. People were screaming and running away, panic slowly settling over the area as nobody was quite prepared to handle an accident of this magnitude. Glasses found himself simply standing there and watching as several disturbingly bright colors started to stain the ground between the smashed cars, making the area look more like a free for all turf war had taken place rather than a place where several people most likely had just lost their lives. 

 

Glasses only seemed to snap out of his daze when he found someone shaking his shoulder, he slowly turned his head, taking longer than was normal to register that he was staring back at Headphones, with Bobble close behind. Further away stood the Yellow-Green team, who had agreed to help them practice today. All of them wore expressions varying between shock, fear and panic. Even Rider, who was usually quick to hide his true emotions, wore an expression of open worry.

 

"Glasses? Glasses are you okay? Can you hear me? We heard a crash, did you get hurt? Where's Goggles?" 

 

Goggles. Finally Glasses snapped back to himself completely, his eyes widening before he whirled around. Goggles. Goggles had pushed him out of the way. Goggles had gotten hit, he was probably trapped between the cars, they had to help him, they had to- 

 

Just as he made the first few steps towards the pile of scrap metal that had once been several cars, sirens started blaring in the distance as the fire fighters started to arrive. They were quick to direct everyone away, making sure they could work properly. Neither the Blue nor the Yellow-Green team really wanted to budge, however they decided to stick close, especially after Glasses finally managed to frantically explain what had happened. The hope they had had that Goggles was just late was blown away, and now all seven Inklings prayed that he was somehow okay. 

 

Goggles had had impossible luck before, right? If it was anything like the situations before, he would soon climb out of the wreckage, whine about his glass of pickled plums being smashed, and then they all would go play a turf war to calm down and forget all about this situation.

 

Right?

 

But that wasn't what happened. It took the fire fighters ages to clear up all the junk and metal that was blocking the way, and slowly, one by one, they started pulling bodies from the wreckage. Some were lucky, and had managed to survive with barely more than a few scratches. Others....not so much. Glasses felt sick to his stomach as yet another Inkling was carried away with a sheet covering their entire body, only to quickly snap to attention when he heard someone call out from the wreckage that they had found one more. 

 

It felt like the world itself held its breath as the adult inkling started to pull a familiar yet mangled body from beneath one of the smashed cars. Blue ink-like blood dripped down his face as his limp body was carefully laid on the pavement as the fire fighter started to check for signs of life. It was Goggles, there was no doubt about it, his jacket had been torn in several places, and his trademark headgear must have fallen off during the crash, as it was missing. 

 

His skin was a little too pale, his body just a little too lax, and when the fire fighter moved to stand and shook his head, it felt like the world broke apart. All seven Inklings felt the world go numb around them as a stretcher was brought over and Goggles' body was loaded onto it before being covered with a sheet. The last they saw of their dear friend was his form silhouetted in white cloth as he was loaded into the back of one of the ambulances to be brought in for examination. 

 

The next couple days were a blur for everyone. When Goggles' Grandma was informed about her grandson's passing, she nearly broke down. After all, he was all she had left after her son had decided to cut ties with her as well as his own child. However, arrangements had to be made, so she pulled herself together, and with the help of the rest of the Blue Team, a funeral was planned. 

 

It wasn't supposed to be a huge gathering, mostly only Goggles' Team, his Grandma, as well as the Yellow-Green team who had been present at the site of the accident. However, word had spread around, and in the week leading up to the funeral, all of Inkopolis seemed duller than usual. 

 

In the end, it felt like half of Inkopolis had showed up to send this once so bright Inkling on his last journey. The S4, Emperor, Gloves, Hachi as well as their teams had showed up, not to mention all the other Inklings the Blue team had fought with in the past. Despite so many Inklings gathered in one place it was eerily quiet, with people only speaking up to share how Goggles had changed their world, how he would be missed. 

 

As the coffin was lowered into the ground it felt like something broke, the silence was slowly but surely filled with muffled sobs and wails of anguish. Everyone seemed affected in one way or another, some silently paying their respects while others openly weeped for the fallen ray of sunshine that would no longer light up Inkopolis. 

 

Even though there was no rain, it felt like the skies themselves were crying, heavy clouds blocking out the sun as the Inklings left one by one, the last ones to leave being the Blue Team as well as Goggles' Grandma. They hadn't wanted to leave, with burying Goggles having felt like burying parts of their own hearts. However, eventually, even they had to let go, leaving behind a gravestone that was decorated with Goggles' namesake headgear as well as a sea of flowers from all the Inklings wanting to say goodbye. 

 

Somewhere in the distance, an oddly pale Octoling had observed the whole ceremony, a smirk slowly spreading over her face as she spoke into the earpiece she was wearing. "˙ʇǝ͝ƃɹ͝ɐʇ ̴ʍ̧ǝu ҉ɐ ̛sn pųn͡o͟ɟ͝ ǝʌ͟,͡I͡ ̢ʞuᴉ̷ɥ̶ʇ̴ ̸I"

  
  
  
  



	2. Blue, the color of sadness

Inkopolis was slowly waking up, and with it, people started to move about in the streets, Inklings and Octolings alike bustling to get to their jobs, or to go meet with friends. Among all of them was a certain glasses-wearing Inkling that slowly dragged his feet as he headed to the square, taking the same route at the same time as he had done every day since the _incident_.

 

On that day, it had felt like the entire world shattered for so many people, Goggles, one of the most optimistic Inklings Inkopolis had ever seen, had been involved in an accident that cost not only his life, but also several others. The ones that been hit the hardest of all by his loss were his Grandma, who had shut herself off from the outside world shortly after the funeral, and his team, the Blue Team. Four friends that had been together since pre-school, only to get one of them torn away so suddenly. 

 

All of them had different ways of dealing with what had happened. For Glasses, it meant taking the same route he had done that day, starting from Goggles' house, riding the subway, and heading down the road that lead to Inkopolis Square. He would always stop at the crossroads where the incident had taken place. The traffic light was surrounded by flowers, candles and little gifts people left behind for those who've lost their lives that day. 

 

Glasses would always find himself staring at the sea of colorful flowers, only being reminded of the splatters of blood that had decorated the road that day, all those different colors, so vibrant, so bright, and yet when he imagined them, he could feel his stomach turning, especially when his focus landed on that deep shade of blue that slowly slid down Goggles' face as the fire fighters had pulled his lifeless body out of the wreckage. 

 

_ ”Can’t you give me five more minutes? I’m still tiiiiired” _

 

As he crossed the road, the thought crossed his mind that if he hadn't urged Goggles to hurry up, they might not have been in that situation. If he had just let the other take his time, if he had let him walk ahead or set their pace, Goggles might still be alive. On some days, Glasses even resented the bubbly Inkling for pushing him out of the way back then, he hated the fact that Goggles got to rest eternally while he and everyone else were plagued with having to live on. 

 

_ “Come on guys, lets go practice!” _

 

Without really thinking, his feet carried him to his usual spot, not far from the Lobby Tower. Glasses would always sit near it, as if waiting for something, no, for some _one_. Ever since the funeral happened, Glasses would be in that spot, waiting, it didn't matter what was going around him, as long as no one actively dragged him away, he would sit there until the sun set before slowly dragging himself to his feet and shuffling back to his home. 

 

Speaking of dragging Glasses from his spot, Headphones was desperately trying to move on. Of course, losing Goggles hurt, he was one of her best friends, and without him, it felt like a part of herself was missing, but...she simply didn't want to sink into a bog of depression like she had watched many of the others do. On a good day, she would manage to gather up both Glasses and Bobble and take them to one of the stages so they could do some practice. 

 

_ “Don’t be sad, I know what’ll cheer you up, lets go test out that new Squiffer you got!” _

 

On particularly bad days, she would either join Glasses, or simply not leave the house at all. She wanted to be strong for her friends and support them through this harsh time, but it was difficult. The loss weighed on her just as much as it did on Glasses and Bobble, if not more so. She kept wondering if she could have done something to prevent it, maybe if they had called off practice, if they had postponed it to a later time, anything that would have prevented that horrible accident from taking place. But what happened cannot be undone, and there way no way left to go but forward.

 

_ “Its not that bad if we miss one day of practice, its not like we’re gonna be gone tomorrow! Lets go have some ice cream instead!” _

 

At least that's what she liked to tell herself. Truth be told, if there was a way to go back, to stop Goggles from getting hit, she would take it in a heartbeat. The mere thought that she would never see her friend again, unable to hear his contagious laughter, his beaming smile and even his idiotic remarks, it burned a hole into her heart that on some days prevented her from moving at all, much less doing much of anything else. 

 

Of course, nobody could forget the last member of Team Blue, the one that was most like Goggles, and the one whose reaction had been unpredictable. Nobody was quite sure exactly how Bobble had taken it. Before, during, and even after the funeral, she refused to talk. It was like her voice had been snuffed out together with Goggles' life.  

 

_ “See? Bobble gets it, always keep your smile up and have fun!” _

 

Unlike Headphones and Glasses, Bobble would still smile and prance around the Square, and to anyone who didn't know any better it might have looked like the bubbly girl was completely unbothered by the loss of her friend. However anyone that knew her even in the slightest knew that she was suffering just as much as everyone else. She was smiling, yes, but it was a strained smile, one that never managed to reach her eyes. She would prance around the Square perhaps, but anyone paying attention to her would see that she seemed to be searching, as if she had lost something, or rather someone. 

 

Sometimes, Bobble acted like she had forgotten. She would show up shortly after Glasses to their usual meeting spot, and on the occasions that Headphones joined, she would try to drag the two of them towards the practice grounds, only to stop shortly before the Lobby Tower, a flicker going through her eyes as her smile wavered for just a moment as she recalled. She would always vanish after such an incident, and it usually took a few days until she finally showed up in the Square again. Each time, her spirits seemed a little more dampened, although the smile on her face never vanished.

 

All in all, the Blue Team had been hit hard by the loss of Goggles. Not only had they lost their fourth member, but they had lost their spirits together with him. In all honesty, they couldn't be considered a Team anymore at all, as they were, they certainly couldn't participate in Turf Wars, as it would require them to take on a new fourth member, and it was clear that neither of the three was ready to accept that fact yet. The death of Goggles seemed to have been the death of the Blue Team as a whole. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh I'm not happy with this chapter as I could have been, but its still good. Stay tuned for more tomorrow!


	3. Lone Rider

_ "So...would you ever consider dating another guy?" _

 

Sometimes, Rider wondered if there was something he could have done. 

 

_ "You know that I like you, like, /really really/ like you, right?" _

 

Every time he thinks back to that dreadful day, he wants to throw himself in front of a car. 

 

_ "Hey Rider, if my team wins this Turf War, lets go on a date!" _

 

How many weeks had it been since they buried Goggles? Three? Four? Maybe more, Rider had lost track of time between everything else.

 

_ "Would you...you know, would you consider being my boyfriend...?" _

 

Rider wasn't sure if he could ever love again. Hell, if he could ever FEEL again after what had happened. After this stubborn, idiotic Inkling that had somehow wormed his way into the stoic S-Rank's heart had been torn away from him so suddenly. Goggles had been the one to snap him out of his bullshit back then, dragged him away from the mentality that one alone had to be strong enough to win. 

 

And now, that same Goggles was gone forever, his life snuffed out by an accident that nobody could have foreseen. Each time Rider thought about it, it made his heart feel a little more constricted. What had they done to deserve having him taken away? 

 

On some days, it felt like his sadness would crush him, the weight of his loss heavy on his shoulders and forcing him to the ground. He was sick of dealing with it, sick of feeling so hurt, so  _ vulnerable _ .

 

Something in him snapped. He pulled away from his team, from his friends, from everyone who tried to get through to him. No, he couldn't afford to get attached anymore, it would only hurt him again in the end. The Yellow-Green Inkling seemed to close off his heart to the outside world, and to distract himself from the feeling of being alone, he took up his trusty Roller and threw himself into as many ranked matches as he could.

 

If the S4 had been hailed as kings before, Rider was now hailed as a god. The moment his name appeared on the list, the enemy team knew they were done for. Some struggled against it, of course. Some would dare challenge him, but he always won in the end. While he mostly stuck to the Splat Zones as his favorite mode, it wasn't long until he had attained an X Rank in all four. 

 

No one had been able to so much as get close to him, much less splat him, or even win a match against him. It was almost like Rider had gone back to his old self, before he had met Goggles, only that he now was solely focusing on beating the enemy team without any mercy. 

 

It sometimes felt like he didn't do it solely to forget, but actively to hurt others. Even teams that had already given up were mercilessly hunted down by him during their matches, and anyone who so much as dared to set a foot outside their spawn point would find themselves on the wrong end of his Gold Dynamo Roller. 

 

Those who had fought him usually were too terrified to try again, some even retiring from ranked modes altogether. Rider himself never worked in a set team, always hopping into whatever match was available, not caring who he was helping or who he was facing. 

 

Only once had someone manage to stand up to him during a ranked match, and it was only because it was a certain purple inkling who seemed to have his mind set on snapping Rider out of whatever daze he was in. 

 

After another successful day of punishing those naive enough to challenge him, Rider shouldered his Roller and left the Lobby Tower. He could feel the stares and whispers as he passed by the crowds that always gathered in the Square towards the end of the day, but he easily ignored them. He didn't care for them, they weren't important. To him, nobody was, they were all just weaklings that needed to be crushed under the heel of his boots. 

 

Without thinking, his feet carried him out of the square, over the crossroads where the fateful accident had taken place, and then further to the metro. He rode it back to the part of the city he lived in, only depositing his Roller and picking up his wallet before leaving his apartment once more, turning his head to the sky and watching the sun slowly set. 

 

By the time Rider had arrived at his destination, the moon had already risen high above the city, bathing the area in its soft light. The gruff Inkling didn't even have to think as his feet carried him through rows upon rows of headstones, some decorated with flowers, weapons and other belongings, others completely abandoned or even vandalized. 

 

He came to a halt in front of a particular gravestone, this one almost bathed in a sea of different flowers, a pair of broken Goggles hanging off the side of the stone, partially covering the name that was inscribed on it. As Rider took it all in, the same constricting feeling took hold of his heart again, and for a moment, he wanted nothing more than to run away, to forget all about this and pretend he had never met this Inkling.

 

“ _ You shouldn't ignore me~! _ ”

 

But he couldn't. Goggles, for as much of an idiot as he was, had left his mark on Rider, both as his friend, and as his partner.

 

“ _ You'll stay with me forever, right Rider? ‘Cause I'm not gonna leave you! _ ”

 

Rider didn't notice that he was shaking until he felt himself nearly crushing the flowers he had brought with him, biting his lip before slowly moving to kneel, placing the Primroses he had bought down gently before getting back up.

 

"You stupid idiot...why did you break your promise? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t leave me?" 

 

With the questions, Rider felt a lump rising in his throat. This was what he had wanted to avoid for so long. He hated feeling weak like this, it made him feel useless, like a little squidling crying over spilled milk. And yet, he couldn't stop the tears that slowly started to roll down his cheeks, hitting the ground as his shoulders shook in his effort to force down a sob. 

 

In the end, Rider was glad that he chose such a late time to come visit the grave, as nobody frequented the graveyard at this time. Like this, nobody would have to see the feared X-Rank God cry like he had been hatched five minutes ago. When he finally managed to calm himself, he wiped his eyes, straightened his back and trained his face back into the same emotionless expression he always wore nowadays, and with one last glance back at Goggles' grave, he left.

 

From further away, several pairs of eyes followed the stoic Inkling as he left the graveyard, and once he was out of sight, the figures began to move, closing in on the grave Rider had just stood in front of. 

 

"͜¿̛͝ǝ̛u̡o ǝ̨͠ɥ҉͏̶ʇ ̢̕s͟ᴉ̕ɥ҉͏̶ʇ ̛s̢̡I"

 

A curt nod, and within moments, flowers were ripped from their carefully picked spots, discarded without care as the figures went to work.

 


	4. S(ad)4

Word had spread around Inkopolis the next morning. A band of grave robbers defiled the grave of a dearly loved Inkling. Panic and distress ensued from the insult. A call from the heart of the busy city wanted answers from the culprits, seeking their capture. However, without any clues to go by, many teams have failed to track down whatever cruel being would disturb such an innocent Inkling’s final rest.

 

However, one team seems to have yet to join in the search despite the calls and questions specifically for them. The S4 has been torn apart since that incident, all four of them being rather attached to Goggles. Each of the Inklings had changed drastically, with most of the group falling out of practice, losing the will to turf. Their leader on the other hand, while nearly abandoning the group all together, has done nothing but improve. The purple sharpshooter swiftly made his way into X rank once hearing one of his ex-rivals was on a rampage. It seems as though he was trying to bring him back from the brink before returning to what many believe to be his retirement.

 

Unfortunately, such a situation fails to help now. With one constantly in turf and the other locked away to fester in his own rage and sorrow, only half of the legendary S4 was left to wade through the panic and confusion and establish a stable ground for Inkopolis to stand on. The Inklings in question were named Army and Aloha, a brainy strategist who at one time was feared as he was almost never out played due to knowing the ins and outs of turfing and a fresh party squid known for being nearly impossible to hit during a match as he danced around the battlefield.

 

Despite these facts, neither have been seen in battle for ages. One locked themselves away in books, writing and noting everything to the point of being unable to stop, afraid of missing a single detail. It’s almost as if the Inkling believes he can learn the ins and outs of life, to predict the unpredictable, so nothing could happen to his friends again. Perhaps if he could have just predicted what was going to happen that morning…

 

“ _You got it all wrong!_ _Being unable to predict your battles is what makes them so enjoyable!_ ”

 

No. As much as he may try, Army already knows the futility of trying to predict such things. Goggles himself taught Army as much as that. The blue happy-go-lucky Inkling was the most unpredictable thing Army had ever encountered. Whether it was forgetting his weapon, losing his clothes, or just impossibly bending the laws of physics, there was just no way to predict the boy, and it seemed to be how the blue Inkling liked it to be.

 

The other Inkling, Aloha, was a former party king, filling his turf battles with dancing and music to make it enjoyable. Like Army though, the Inkling has suffered a major shift in personality since that cheerful blue child disappeared from Inkopolis. Despite his team’s attempts, Aloha only will give them a bittersweet smile before saying he’ll drag down the party as he is now. The many attempts to revive the party king have failed, but the sulking Inkling does still respond to a song, ears perking up and foot tapping before slowly easing back into his slump.

“ _ Ink it up, ink it uuup~! _ ”

 

Sometimes the party king attempts to bury his head for what appears to be no reason at all to most. To Aloha however, it’s a song putting down his head, trying to block it out. The tune from the first match against the wild turfer bounces around, the words sung in that happy, singsong pitch the boy always carried. Although he adored the tune more than ever because of the memories attached to it, the pain of knowing that Inkling would never be able to party or create such memories again almost convinces Aloha to lock himself in his room until he dries up and fades away.

 

That won’t help though. They have to right what was wrong first. If not for Inkopolis’ sake, at least for the sake of that cheery child actually being able to have a well deserved rest. Very few words have actually been exchanged between the pair so far as they stare at the information in front of them, both trying to figure out exactly what to do in such a horrible situation. The only sounds in the room being the creaking of an overhead fan, the scratching of pen on paper and the obvious mutterings of Army as he musters what appears on the paper in front of him. That is until Aloha lets out a frustrated sigh and sits up.

 

“Listen. Army. We’re useless like this. Especially on our own. We’re the weaker half of the S4 and we both fell pretty far out of practice. We need Skull and Mask.”

 

Army, despite wishing to ignore his companion’s comments, looks up from his notes and stares at him almost dazedly for a moment before straightening himself out. The tactician stares at him a while longer, considering what he said a bit longer. A depressed sigh escapes the Inkling’s lips before he speaks, the once calculated and confident tone having been replaced by a dark, serious, slightly brooding one.

 

“That is unfortunately true. We’d need at least Skull to have any sort of chance at finding whoever’s behind all of this. However, to bring them back, we’d need Mask as well. I do believe we could convince Skull to return to the S4 if we can catch him and explain what happened to him. Mask on the other hand is a much harder case. I don’t even think we can get near him. Never mind convince him to help.”

 

Aloha remains silent for a moment, glancing down at the information scattered in front of them. A slight glare forms on his face, hands covering his ears, the familiar tune starting to bounce around again. A slight frustrated growl escapes the party Inkling’s lips before they look back to their partner across the table, maddened into determination.

 

“Leave Mask to me then. You get Skull back and both of you follow me to Walleye Warehouse if I’m not already back with him by time you get ahold of Skull. I’ll convince him to listen or keep trying to drag him back by force if I need to. I can’t stand just sitting around during this!”

 

Army nods while suppressing the urge to start shaking. He had never seen the other Inkling so riled up like this. So maddened. It was almost terrifying to see the once chill, fresh squid reduced to growling and threats. Army wouldn’t be surprised if he heard the other muttering about ripping someone to shreds when they left their temporary base. It’s not as though Army couldn’t understand it though. He’d love nothing more than arrange and be part of the firing squad to put an end to the culprits who dared to mess with that angelic Inkling’s final resting place. The flowers tossed and trampled carelessly was as the equivalent of tearing off that sweet Inkling’s wings as far as he was concerned.

 

The two exchange a final look of determined resolve, finally having somewhat of a plan to right what has happened. A slight nod between the two is shared before both respectively leave the base. Heading to the most likely destination of their missing teammates in hopes of dragging them back down from their other worldly perches.


	5. S(ad)4 pt. 2

Technically, finding Skull shouldn't have been all that hard. After all, the sharpshooter spent nearly every day fighting match after match after match in an attempt to do  _ something _ . Nobody was quite sure, nobody dared to ask. If Skull's presence had been intimidating before, it was terrifying now. Most Inklings were too afraid to get close to him, much less talk to him. The Lobby Tower was always the most likely place to catch him, if at all. 

 

Army wasn't having much luck though, he had asked around, and while some people HAD seen the terrifying purple Inkling wandering about, nobody had a clue where he actually was currently. Perhaps he got stuck in a couple back to back matches? No, that was unlikely, Skull only participated in battles to hunt down Rider, he wouldn't stick around in one lobby for more than two matches at most. Unless of course...

 

It didn't take Army long to figure out which arenas were currently being used for the ranked battles, and after nearly threatening the clerk currently responsible for dispersing the teams among them, he knew where he had to head. 

 

_ "Skull! Battle with me one more time! How about Moray Towers?" _

 

There were a lot of things Skull didn't understand. The world around him was a mystery which he had to unravel, but one Inkling in particular had puzzled him more than anything else. This one Inkling that had beaten all other members of the S4, suffered a crushing defeat at his hands, and yet came crawling back for a re-match, only to defeat him and his old team on his favorite battling grounds of all things. 

 

Well.

 

What used to be his favorite battling grounds.

 

If he were asked about it now, he would say that he absolutely despised Moray Towers. In fact, he despised most elevated places. Standing up high, peering down at the Inklings bustling below made him sick to his stomach, because it reminded him of one of the most interesting battles of his life. The battle that had changed his mind about so many things. The battle where  _ he _ had managed to splat him in the most insane way possible. 

 

The battle against the Blue Team. Against Goggles. Truth be told, Skull had gotten more attached to the quirky Inkling than he'd like to admit. He just seemed so...unafraid. Asking silly questions, making the dumbest mistakes, and still smiling through the whole thing like nothing had happened. The purple Inkling had found it almost unnaturally easy to relax around Goggles, being just as much of an airhead self. 

 

Of course, those days were gone. Long gone. Goggles had died, not by one of his antics, or some kind of heroic death, despite all the things he had gotten involved in. No, it was a simple car accident that had done him in. In fact, from where he was standing in his spawn, he could see the very intersection where it had happened. He felt the bile rise in his throat, wanting nothing more than to get off this stage, but he was here for a reason. 

 

A splash of ink pelted the protective barrier that surrounded the spawn point, drawing Skull's attention. Right. His reason. 

 

Rider. 

 

The former S-Rank Inkling had gone on a rampage after Goggles' death, tearing through the ranks until there were no more ranks to tear through. Nowadays he spent his time crushing everyone who had the audacity to be in the same match as him, and quite frankly, he was becoming dangerous. Several Inklings had been hospitalized, and if this kept going, Rider would be in some serious trouble. 

 

Readying his E-Liter, Skull took aim and fired, only to have the green inkling dodge to the side with surprising speed. He knew he would have to hurry, watching the timer for the zones steadily tick down, they wouldn't have much more time now. He fired shot after shot, watching Rider Ink the space back over and launching more flings of ink at the barrier in a useless attempt to get to him. 

 

After a moment, Skull gave a signal, and while he kept Rider dodging from side to side with his shots, he had his team mates jump down and head towards the zones. Before Rider could react, Skull super jumped down to one of the other Inklings, but instead of following them to the zones down below, he made a path back up to his spawn, rounding the corner only to see Rider standing atop the incline, his Roller raised and ready to strike. 

 

He knew what he had to do, his stomach still twisted at the thought of it, his thoughts returning to the dark place they had been dipping into over and over again recently, but he shook them off, and just as Rider launched his first Jumpstrike, Skull started to run. 

 

Stacking his gear with as much Run Speed Up as he could get his hands on definitely had been a wise decision, he managed to swiftly dodge two more strikes before he was right in front of the other Inkling. And just as Rider raised his Roller for a normal strike, he dodged to the side. 

 

Right off the side of the stage. 

 

However, without Rider having noticed, Skull had been missing his shots on purpose earlier, aiming to ink the ground rather than splat the other Inkling. And as he jumped off the edge, he activated his modified E-Liter's special, a weapon both Skull and Rider had been on the receiving end of before.

 

The Inkzooka. 

 

The look on Rider's face was one of pure shock as he finally realized what the other was doing, making him recall the match he himself had trained the Blue Team for. With a roar that had no business coming out of the Inklings mouth, Rider raised his roller to splat the other mid-air, however just as both of them were ready to strike, a shrill noise ran through the arena, announcing the end of the match. 

 

The Yellow-Green team had won.

 

It wasn't surprising, they had had a great lead from the very start, and with Rider keeping the other team boxed in their spawn nearly the entire match even the last ditch effort hadn't been enough.

 

Rider simply clutched his roller, his knuckles turning white before storming off in a fit of rage, as he had done every time Skull had challenged him so far. Even if it was a victory for him, he still felt like he had lost. 

 

Skull on the other hand took a moment to respawn, unfortunately not catching which direction Rider had stormed off to. Just as he was about to ask Judd about it, Army finally approached him. 

 

"Skull." 

 

He hesitated, part of him wanted to run after Rider to snap him out of whatever had taken hold of him, but he also couldn't ignore the sheer urgency in Army's voice. After all, they were technically teammates… They were  _ friends _ . He shouldn't put this off.

 

“What is it?"

 

Army simply motioned him to follow, and Skull couldn't be more glad to get out of this stage, once his favorite, now a source of nothing but nausea to him. As they walked, Skull noticed that they weren't heading back to the square, instead, the path they took lead towards one of the stages they had to shut down for good reasons. If Skull had had eyebrows, he would have quirked them at Army, although the other Inkling seemed to understand his confusion.

 

"There was an incident. You probably haven't heard since you were busy upholding your rank."

 

Army's tone was sharp, almost accusatory, but Skull decided not to pay it any mind. Of course the orange Inkling would be mad at their team leader for vanishing into endless amounts of matches.

 

"What happened? Something wrong with Mask?"

 

At that, Army simply sighed. The orange Inkling shook his head a bit, glancing back at the Inkling following him.

 

"No. Well, nothing more than what has been wrong with him. We'll just need his assistance for this. The thing is, someone disturbed a grave yesterday."

 

At those words, a cold shudder ran down the sharpshooters spine, and his eyes narrowed a little. Of course, a disturbed grave was a big deal, but not quite big enough to get the former elite together.

 

"There's something you're not telling me."

 

Now it was his turn to sound accusatory, and by the way Army flinched, he hit the nail on the head. Something about this was much worse than the orange Inkling wanted to admit to him.

 

"....It was Goggles' grave. The body is missing and nobody knows who did it. There has been a considerable outcry from the public and people are demanding that we clear up the issue. However we've decided that we can't clear this up between just two or three of us. We will need the entire S4 for this." 

 

Skull stopped dead in his tracks, needing time to process what he had just heard. Goggles' grave. The grave of the Inkling that might as well have been an angel sent from above. For a moment, Skull felt white hot rage run through his veins, the mere thought of getting his hands on the perpetrators letting thoughts run through his mind that would have scared him at any other time. 

 

He wondered if that was how Rider felt all the time. 

 

However, Skull wasn't an inkling that was dictated by emotions, slowly, he took a deep breath, unclenched his fist, and fixated Army with a stare that had the other inkling stand up a little straighter. He was their leader. He needed to act like it despite his poor performance in recent months.

 

"...Very well. I'm assuming you haven't gotten Mask to cooperate yet, have you?" 

 

Army simply shook his head before the two of them started to walk once more, Walleye Warehouse soon appearing on the horizon.

 

It wasn't often that Inkopolis had to shut down one of its Turf War stages. Usually it was only temporary, remodeling, having to fix damages or other things being the case. Very rarely were stages taken out of rotation completely, like Flounder Heights after too many residents had complained about Inklings getting into their homes by accident. 

 

Walleye Warehouse however had been an extremely special case. It wasn't taken out of rotation because of damages, or complaints or anything of the sort. No. It had been taken out of rotation because a certain member of the S4 now called it his territory, and refused to let anyone as much as enter it. Of course, there were a few exceptions, but they were few and far between. 

 

Mask hadn't been sure what to do with himself after the funeral. He would have never thought that a death would affect him like this. After all, it wasn't like they were friends or anything, Goggles just had been that one guy that beat him that one time. Nothing to get upset over. It would be just one competitor less, right?

 

At least that's what Mask had told himself up until the funeral. But when he was finally confronted by the reality of it, the image of the coffin carrying that once so lively inkling sinking into the ground, burying him forever, something simply snapped inside of him. 

 

Nothing could make him happy anymore, not his games, not his old teammates, not turf wars. Especially not turf wars. And  _ god forbid _ anyone try to smile at him. He had detested people's happiness before, wanted to wipe the smiles off of their faces. But now? Now he would actively attack anyone who so much as showed a hint of a smirk to him. He couldn't stand it, he couldn't stand the idea of people being happy while something so precious had been ripped from this world.

 

“ _ Guys it’s gonna be alright! We just need to work together! _ ”

 

The first time people had shown up to turf in Walleye Warehouse after he had made it his territory...needless to say, it did not end well. And after several attempts to remove him failed, the committee had decided that they couldn't bother spending anymore resources on recovering the stage, so they simply left him be. 

 

He sometimes allowed people in, his old teammates, the other S4 members, occasionally even that weird cheery kid with the green tentacles, he reminded him of what they had lost sometimes. But letting them enter did not mean that he let them get close to him. After tinkering with his inkpack, he had removed the limiter on his special, allowing him to use his Seeker Bomb Rush several times in quick succession. It did put an incredible strain on his body, considering it used up so much of his ink, but it was a small price to pay for being left alone in his anger and sadness. 

 

Mask was currently sitting on the deactivated spawn point, his head leaned back against one of the walls as he watched the ceiling lights sway from side to side from the soft breezes that occasionally passed through the windows. Sometimes he wondered what it was like to die, it surely can't hurt more than this horrible existence, right? 

 

But before he could get any deeper into his thoughts, his ears perked up when he picked up a sound. Narrowing his eyes behind his mask, got ready to unleash a bomb rush when he noticed who it was. 

 

Aloha. What an odd inkling to visit him. Mask and Aloha had never really gotten along great, considering their differences in personality. Suddenly seeing him appear certainly had Mask wary, but not really angered enough to attack him quite yet. 

 

"Not another steeep. Unless you want to get blown up by a dozen ink mines of coouurse."

 

He drawled out, watching the pink inkling stop dead in his tracks. At one time, the cyan Inkling would have almost been amused by such a reaction. Now however...

 

“Whaaat do you want?" 

 

The former party king grit his teeth, with the taunting melody bouncing around his head and the thought of the grave robbers still out there, he was just about ready to simply sprint over to the Sub Weapon user and drag him back to their makeshift headquarters by the back of his shirt. But he knew that he would find himself at the bad end of several bomb rushes if he did anything rash. 

 

"We need your help. There's been an incident and the S4 have been asked to help resolve it." 

 

Mask simply tilted his head, the motion almost looking alien with his trademark headgear covering his face. It's not as though Aloha wasn't used to the alien-esk look of his former teammate, but it was still unnerving nonetheless.

 

"Why should I caaare? You guys can take caaare of it yourselves." 

 

The pink inkling narrowed his eyes, fingers itching for his Gal. But he knew that if he splatted the other with the spawn points deactivated there would be a fair bit of trouble, namely the fact that Mask would be gone, just like Goggles. And while Aloha might not have the best opinion on the Cyan Inkling, he would prefer not to lose anymore people so soon. 

 

"This is important, we wouldn't come to ask you if-"

 

The cyan Inkling scoffed, cutting off the other. Aloha barely stopped himself reaching for his Gal.

 

"I don't caaare. Leeaave."

 

Mask simply cut the other off, his tentacles glowing as he no doubt got ready to launch a bomb rush in case Aloha refused. 

 

Aloha opened his mouth to respond, to plead, to yell at the other, to do anything that might convince him to work with the rest of them. But as much of a smooth talker as he used to be, he had lost his charm after the incident, becoming jaded. 

 

Just as Mask raised his arms to unleash the special, a beam of light trained itself on his forehead.

 

"I think you might want to listen to what we have to say. It concerns you as well."

 

Through the gates of the warehouse walked Skull and Army, the former having his E-Liter trained on the Sub Weapon user. Of course, he would never actually shoot, he knew the spawn points were disabled, and that he would have blood on his hands, but that didn't mean that he couldn't bluff. 

 

There was a moment in which no one dared to move, the only sound audible being the soft hum of machinery moving crates around. After a few moments, Mask's special wore off, and he slowly lowered his arms.

 

“Fiiiine. Tell me what happened, and I miiiight help yoouu." 

 

The three inklings on the other side of the warehouse visibly relaxed, Skull slowly lowering his weapon, instead stepping next to Aloha who looked rather grateful their team leader showed up when he did.

 

"Goggles' grave. It was raided." 

 

A beat of silence passed before an almost unholy shriek left the masked Inkling as he nearly charged over to the other three, looking more like a wild animal than an inkling for a moment.

 

" **_WHAT?!"_ **

 

A thousand thoughts were running through his mind right now, but most of them revolved around the most vile ways in which he could punish whoever dared to disturb the rest of one of the few inklings Mask had found himself caring about. It took him a few moments to finally settle down enough to hear the rest of the explanation Skull offered to him, and without hesitating he agreed to work together with the other three, if only to catch whoever was responsible. 

 

All four inklings exchanged a glance, this wasn't just a simple mission to catch some outlaws because the city told them to. No, this was personal. Whoever had dared to lay a hand on Goggles' resting place would have to answer to them, and by the gods, none of the S4 were in the right state of mind to show mercy. 

  
  



	6. Of Gloves and Grieving

While Inkopolis was slowly allowing itself to ease from panic into rage, another Inkling was still trying to ease those suffering over the incident that took place nearly three months prior now. The bright green-inked Inkling was known as Gloves, a dualie wielder from Inkopolis Square and one of the many friends Goggles had made during his time in the Square. Once a usually collected and confident squid, if not a bit vain over being one of the trendiest Inklings that could be found in turf, the incident that stole Goggles away from everyone affected him too. The green Inkling couldn’t be bothered to care about the latest trend like he used to be. He could hardly be concerned about turf, only ever going in when his teammates asked him to. When they begged for him to try to enjoy something again and thought he might be able to lift his spirits in a good match of turf.

 

“ _ With so many new things- It would make battling much more interesting! _ ”

 

It wasn’t enough though. Not with the green Inkling’s life falling apart around him. Ever since Goggles’ passing everything changed for the worse. He spent his days trying to hold together what was left of the wreckage his life became. This meant he was typically trying to take care of his old friends. That even meant Rider, an Inkling that any other would be smart enough to avoid. Gloves kept trying to work on him though, he was one of the few things he had left and Gloves wasn’t ready to give him up without a fight. He already gave up turf wars, one of his life’s only focuses. An Inkling that doesn’t turf is usually considered a broken Inkling in today’s society, though Gloves couldn’t care less anymore. Perhaps grieving properly for a while would fix the Inkling, give him the energy to actually do his signature do-

 

“ _ Me too!! _ ”

 

No, no, no! There was a reason he couldn’t do dodge rolls! Remembering how the sweet blue idiot mimicked him into Grizzco when they went after his snack was more than enough to force the Inkling to curl up into a ball until the searing pain that shot through his stomach and chest finally decides to disperse. He can’t freeze up. It’s not something he can afford right now.

 

There are still some certain Inklings that don’t know what happened in the graveyard two days beforehand. Gloves would have thought that impossible if it wasn’t for the fact that he himself had to alert Army and Aloha to the fact. Two members of the legendary S4 that Inkopolis was screaming for help from. A smile for once crossed the green Inkling’s face for more than a few fleeting moments when he heard that his information had done some good. The awe-inspiring S4 was back, however temporary it was, and had joined in the hunt for those vile creatures that dared to disturb such a sweet sleeping angel.

 

Yet, his work wasn’t done. There’s one Inkling he’s sure doesn’t know what happened to the beloved idiot’s grave. If he knew, there’s no way he’d still be torturing the world of ranked battles. He’d be on too much of a rampage through Inkopolis finding the culprits and gutting them like the slimy bastards they are. No, Rider can’t possibly know what happened to poor Goggles and it’s not like anyone would be stupid enough to approach him except for Gloves.

 

Gloves had been trying to track the bastard since the robbing took place. He caught glimpses of the killing machine in matches but could never seem to find him afterwards. After the match with Skull yesterday, the green Inkling is almost afraid to run into the raging monstrosity. But he has to know. Goggles was his. He should know what happened to his beloved partner. For once since the incident, the green Inkling has the resolve to see something through, even if it does get him splatted an unholy amount of times.

 

With a frustrated sigh the green Inkling turns down an alleyway to circle back to the turf tower. The morning is still young, perhaps Rider hasn’t shown up yet. Turf doesn’t start for another thirty minutes. Dazed by his own thoughts, the green Inkling only snaps out of it when nearly colliding with another, only the growl from the green Inkling getting to near stopped him. Looking up, Gloves saw just the Inkling he had been hunting down.

 

Rider was just as pissed as Gloves had assumed he would be after Skull’s antics. However, Gloves couldn’t allow that to stop him, this was far too important to worry about how Rider would hurt him.

 

“R-Rider! I’ve been trying to f-”

 

The greenish-yellow Inkling huffs to silence the other and grips his roller, shouldering it again and turning away from the bright green Inkling. The glare on the X rank’s face would be more than enough to silence most Inklings.

 

“I have no time for you. Find someone else.”

 

The green Inkling looks stunned before glaring at the terrifying monster. Quickly following the other, Gloves decides to try pleading again. The other had to know, as infuriating as he is right now.

 

“Rider! This is serious-!”

 

The green Inkling barely dodges to the side in time to avoid a heavy hit from the other’s dynamo. Once again a growl tears from the ruthless machine’s throat. It sickens Gloves to see the other like this.

 

“I said go find someone else to whine too. Next time, I won’t miss.”

 

Once again the other turns on their heels, walking away from the green pest. Gloves can only stare in angry disbelief before the words start tumbling out of his mouth on their own, regardless of consequences.

 

“RIDER YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD! IF YOU CAN FEEL ENOUGH TO CARE FOR GOGGLES AT ALL, YOU’LL LISTEN TO ME YOU ABSOLUTE SON OF A WHORE!”

 

Now he said it. The X rank grips his roller tightly, hesitating for only a moment before whipping around and charging back over to the green Inkling, pinning him against the wall by his neck, only allowing enough room to breathe. What was with the nerve of these weaklings? Where do they think they have the right to challenge a god?

 

“You have five FUCKING seconds to explain why you have the audacity to speak to me like that, you slimy little pest.”

 

The green Inkling looks terrified initially before getting his challenging  glare returns, a few frustrated tears running down his face. The green Inkling tries to keep the bottle up resentment he has towards the other out of his voice, but fails horribly.

 

“Well, while you’ve been throwing yourself in match after match to hurt everyone and drown your own fucking sorrow, the REST of us have been dealing with a fucking grave-robbing. Wanna take a fucking guess which grave it is if I’m trying to tell you about it numbnuts? Even you can’t be that thick skulled.”

 

The yellow-green Inkling drops the other for a moment. He didn’t just suggest that SOMEONE out there was cruel enough to dig up Goggles’ grave, did he? He couldn’t have. There’s no way someone could be that cruel or stupid. Gloves has to be trying to pull off a joke, however poor in taste it may be. Rider tightens his grip on his roller.

 

“You had best fucking explain yourself better. I’m not the kind to take jokes lightly  _ Gloves _ .”

 

The green Inkling rubs his throat, a hate-filled smile starting to form on his face. He couldn’t resent himself more for the look he has on right now.

 

“I wish it was a joke. I’d be able to punch whoever started it in the face. But it’s not. Everyone in Inkopolis but you knows it too. Even the S4 are back together to hunt down the fuckers that did it. But here we are, standing around, doing nothing but bitching at each other. We’re fucking pathetic, aren’t we?”

 

The green Inkling’s horrible grin widens a bit at the effect of his words. That sick satisfaction bubbling in his stomach only makes him want to throw up until he passes out and fades to oblivion. The yellow-green Inkling was shaking. Showing emotion in front of someone for once since the day of the funeral. The mere idea that someone could do such a thing to his beloved idiot had disturbed him to his core.

 

Without warning, Rider bolts away from the scene, his trusty Dynamo crashing to the ground, forgotten. Gloves can only hesitate for a moment, trying to figure out what snapped in the X ranked beast this time, before following along best he can. He can't allow the idiot to make a rash decision, he's not stable enough to be on his own right now. It felt like a wild goose chase across Inkopolis, but eventually, Gloves managed to catch up to Rider, only realizing where they had ran to when he noticed the gravestones passing him by. 

 

The Inkling freezes, seeing the other on his knees by the destroyed grave of his dearest with a ragged primrose in hand. Unabashed sobs shaking his body and echoing through the air as they escape the broken Inkling's lips.


	7. Of Families Found and Lost

" _ Emperor, you too. Let's have fun! _ "

 

Fun. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever know what it would be like to have fun again. He used to think that he had had fun, crushing opponents under the heel of his boot, dominating tournaments and striking fear into the hearts of the teams that dared to challenge him. Only winners were allowed to have fun, and he had been a winner. He had been a winner up until the moment this odd little inkling challenged him and his team, and through their tenancy, had somehow managed to claim victory. 

 

It had been then that Emperor had realized that there was more to the world than winning, more to himself than just being the king. He had done a lot of soul searching afterwards, from that shoddy part time job to traveling far from inkopolis before he finally returned. On his journey, he had realized a lot of things. 

 

But perhaps the most important one only sunk in once he was finally home, with this blue ball of energy greeting him only shortly after he announced his return, asking if they could have a re-match sometime. The thing he had slowly come to realize when he watched Goggles and Prince spend so much time together, even dragging him along more times than he could count. 

 

He realized that he had started to see Goggles not as a competitor, not as the only inkling that ever beat him, no, he had begun to see Goggles like another little brother. 

 

Perhaps it was silly, after all, the two had few things in common. And yet, on some days he found himself sitting between Goggles and Prince in the square, enjoying a meal and relaxing like he usually only could in the presence of his family. For all he was concerned, Goggles was part of it now, even if he wasn't quite aware of it.

 

So when the unthinkable happened, when the loveable idiot he had come to see as family suddenly vanished from his life, it felt like a hole had been torn into his heart. After the funeral, Emperor had all but shut himself away from the outside world. He wouldn't talk to his team, wouldn't respond to challenges, on his worst days, he wouldn't even let Prince close to him, as much as it hurt both of them in the process. 

 

It was the first time Emperor had to deal with losing something so dear to him, and it almost looked like the former king of the square had shut down completely. It took him a good month until he was finally ready to face his team, and another month after that, he had worked through enough of his grief to show himself to the public once more. 

 

Even after all this progress, he just didn't feel right. Everything he did, every word he said felt like they weren't his own. He had lost the joy in just about everything, even turf wars, once his favorite past time, now were nothing more than a nuisance. He barely ever participated, even when they hosted a tournament in the square, despite his team's protests. It just felt...wrong. To turf, to have fun while it felt like part of himself was missing. 

 

He occasionally did accept challenges, however this was mostly because of people taunting him, saying that he was afraid because he lost to an idiot of all things. Before, he might have brushed off such an off handed insult, but now, it drove him mad. Not because of himself, but because people saw Goggles as less than he was. Because even if the younger inkling had been an idiot, he had still been brilliant in his own way. Winning his battles simply by having fun, never losing courage even when everything looked grim. 

 

The yellow inkling sighed, leaning back in his chair. He had been reminiscing a lot recently, his thoughts drifting more and more often to that smiling face. He wondered if he could have done something to prevent it, if he had only watched over the other a little more carefully, perhaps Goggles would still be with them. Shaking his head, he tried to turn his attention back to the papers on his desk before he heard a knock on his door. For a moment, he considered ignoring it, but when the knock repeated itself, he assumed that it was urgent. 

 

"Come in." 

 

He turned to face the inkling that nearly rushed into his chambers, their posture slightly slumped and their face twisted by into a grimasse of distress. Emperor frowned, slowly standing up and walking over to Prince, hesitating before setting a hand on his shoulder. "At ease Prince. Why are you here?" Despite his best efforts, Emperor could not hide the worry in his voice. There had only been one time before that he had seen his younger brother with this particular expression, and he feared the implications of it.

 

The younger inkling took a moment to catch his breath, it was clear that he must have ran all the way to his brothers room. Once he finally felt like he wasn't suffocating, he managed to croak out. "Th-The committee, they're sending for us. Someone-" Prince had to take a moment to force down a sob, still too used to hiding his emotions. "G-Goggles. His grave. S-Someone dug it up and nobody knows why or who it was and-" 

 

Emperor nearly didn't hear the rest. He slowly slung an arm around his little brother, hesitating before pulling him into a tight hug. He could feel the sobs shivering down Prince's back, and for a moment, he felt white hot rage flare up inside of him. Who would dare lay a finger on that innocent inkling's resting place? What lowly creature would seek to cause so much harm by disturbing Goggles' eternal sleep like this? Not only that, but upsetting everyone that cared for him, all these people that were no doubt now plagued by memories being dragged back up just as they were starting to accept what they had lost. 

 

Slowly feeling Prince calm down, Emperor pulled back, his hand moving to rest on the other's shoulder. "Not to worry. I will go meet the committee and make sure the matter is handled appropriately.”

 

The taller inkling stepped back, hesitating before turning to fetch his jacket as well as his dualies. However just as he grabbed his weapons, he noticed that Prince had not moved from his spot, fidgeting a little. "You can go, I will go handle this." His tone was sharp, clearly meant to stop the younger from trying to argue, however it seemed that Prince either didn't notice, it quite simply didn't care.

 

"But...they summoned us as a team. Doesn't that mean I should go too? I want to help..." he trailed off under the eyes of his big brother until his voice finally cut out, his eyes slowly turning to look downward. This wasn't the first time they had had this conversation. After Goggles' death, Emperor had become more than a little overprotective over his little brother, afraid that if he let Prince out of his sight for too long he would turn up dead as well. He had forbid him from turfing, as well as just about everything else that came with it. On most days, he wouldn't even let him leave the house without an escort of some sort. Emperor had dealt with the pain of losing one little brother, he was certain that he couldn't deal with losing another. 

 

The younger inkling's ears slowly folded down as his posture slumped a little more, dejected that he would once again be excluded. Prince didn't outright hate Emperor for this, he couldn't bring himself to. Excluding their team, Goggles had been his first real friend, the one that showed him that turf wars consisted of more than simply winning. Goggles had been the one that showed Prince that he was allowed to have fun, rather than repressing all of his feelings. 

 

" _ Lets have fun! _ "

 

To Prince, Goggles had been a friend and more, so he very well understood the pain Emperor had gone through after losing him. He could understand that his big brother was afraid of going through it again, that he forbade him from turfing to keep him safe. But it wasn't  _ fair _ . It wasn't fair that he wasn't allowed to participate in turf wars anymore, it wasn't fair that he was constantly being watched over, especially when he went outside. He had just started to become independent, to form a life that consisted of more than just his big brother and his team, but now, all that didn't seem to matter.

 

For a moment, Prince balled up his fists. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to throw a tantrum like a little squidling until his big brother finally realized that he was doing more harm than good by shutting him out like this. But he didn't. With a dejected sigh, he raised his head once more, looking back at the taller inkling. "I don't....I don't want to feel useless like this anymore..." he mumbles, watching as his brother slowly approached. 

 

He assumed it would go like it always did, Emperor would tell him not to worry, to stay put and distract himself with something until he returned with results. Most of the time Prince would simply sit down and read, trying to put his mind anywhere but the current situation, although occasionally Gloves would visit to cheer him up, the bright-green inkling being one of the very few people aside from N-Pacer and Jr. that he allowed to spend time with Prince unsupervised. 

 

However, instead of telling him to go off and distract himself like always, Emperor sighed, his shoulders slowly slumping. Like this, he looked almost like a normal inkling his age, the royal aura around him gone, his face looking softer than it did usually. "...If you really desire to, you can come meet the committee with me. But I'll have N-Pacer escort you home right afterwards, understood?" 

 

Prince blinked for a few moments, taking time to process what he had been told. Emp was allowing him to come along? It was a rare treat for sure, and Prince wouldn't pass it up to save his life. With an eager nod and a soft 'mhn!' noise, he quickly dashed off to fetch his own jacket as well as his dualies, just in case. He hadn't touched them in quite a while, and it almost felt weird to hold them again after so long, but it was a good, familiar feeling. 

 

Just as quickly as he had dashed out, he ran back, just managing to catch Emperor heading down the hallway, tapping away on his phone, no doubt informing N-Pacer and Jr. about the situation. If the matter at hand weren't so grave, Prince would almost be excited to go, even if he was only allowed to attend the strategy meeting. Perhaps he could convince Emperor that he was strong enough to hold his own in this investigation. 

 

The two yellow inklings were on their way shortly after, driving into the heart of inkopolis to meet with a spokesperson of the committee as well as some other inklings that were working on the case. They would plan out their next few steps carefully and then go out to do some actual investigating. As they arrived, they could already spot N-Pacer waiting in front of the building, Jr. probably still on his way from the looks of it. 

 

The siblings walked up to her, Emperor greeting her with a curt nod and Prince with a soft smile. Only a few minutes later Jr. finally arrived, and with that, they headed into the building, quickly being escorted to an expansive conference room. 

 

Inside a few inklings were already gathered, namely three members of the S4, with Skull being absent "Because Rider is rampaging through the city and nobody else is even close to beating him" as they learned later, as well as the Blue Team, who all looked like they had been through various levels of hell. The last inkling in the room was a representative from the Turf War committee, who had taken a special interest in this case since Goggles was considered a legend for beating some of the strongest players around while never advancing past his C- rank during his lifetime. 

 

Introductions were kept short, since most of the inklings in the room already knew each other. Information was exchanged, not that there was much of it. Two days ago, in the middle of the night, unknown grave robbers had vandalized Goggles' final resting place, taking the body, as well as the headgear and the splattershot that were left behind as offerings. It seemed like they had known what they were doing, as nobody had reported any suspicious activity during that night. 

 

However during investigations a few witnesses had claimed that they had seen a strange group of inklings hauling something heavy towards a run down part of town that most people turned a blind eye two. Two more sightings of these strange inklings had been reported, but no concrete details had been given other than that they looked and acted strange, that there were four of them, and that they had been hauling something big and heavy, possibly a bag containing the body. 

 

The S4 had already combed through just about every building in that part of town, as well as having questioned just about every resident, even a couple of arrests had been made, but none of them had lead anywhere. This was the current stand of things, and as it was, everyone seemed completely out of ideas for what to do. A big map of Inkopolis was pinned to the board at the back of the room, pins highlighting all the areas teams had already combed through. While everyone was discussing possible plans and other leads, Prince decided to study it.

 

Scrunching his eyebrows, he squinted at the map before pulling out his phone, cross-referencing something, softly muttering to himself. What he had noticed to be missing on this map was a particular entrance to an old, abandoned subway, tucked away between several abandoned apartment buildings, most likely a line that had fallen out of use ages ago. It wasn't in any of the maps, but he knew it to exist, he had stumbled upon it while exploring the city together with Goggles one time, the other's sense of direction having gotten them hopelessly lost in that part of town until Prince decided to call for Emperor to pick them up.

 

After a moment, he pulled up one of the photos he had taken of that area that day, and surely enough, there it was. A run down entrance leading underground, the stairs blocked by heavy bars with a rusted lock that, while difficult to remove, wouldn't pose much of a problem to someone who was determined enough. 

 

Moving over to the group of people again, Prince gently tugged on Emperor's jacket in an attempt to get his attention. It took him a moment, as he had been leaning over the table to review some of the witness reports, but he looked back at Prince, quirking an eyebrow, prompting the younger to speak up. "I think I might have an idea where to look."

 

The yellow inklings statement didn't just get Emperor's full attention, suddenly Prince felt like every pair of eyes in the room was boring into him, and for a moment, it scared him into silence, especially since he knew that some inklings in the room had turned quite hostile after Goggles' death, and he wouldn't want to bring their wrath upon him by giving any false hope. However it seemed that Emperor noticed as well, shooting a glare to several people before turning to his younger brother again. "Speak up." 

 

It took Prince a few moments, stumbling over his words and being shied into silence twice more by the intense looks before he finally told the others about the abandoned subway entrance, and that if the line really went unused like he presumed, that it would be the perfect hideout after such a crime. After pointing out the rough area on the map as well as showing the other's the picture he had taken, he looked up at his brother with hopeful eyes. 

 

In light of this theory, a few murmurs went through the room, and eventually it was Emperor who decided to speak up. "It's certainly a possibility. Although I'm surprised how something so obvious could be overlooked with several teams combing the area." He shot a look towards the three S4 members, who simply returned it with a glare, Mask in particular looking like he might leap over the table at any given moment. On the other hand the blue team seemed hopeful, Glasses chattering quietly with Headphones as Bobble occasionally nodded, her smile seeming much more subdued than usual. 

 

Eventually, everyone came to an agreement that Emperor's team would go check the area out, as the S4 were called to backup Skull who had managed to corner a rampaging Rider, and the Blue Team was simply in no condition to fight after stressing out for two days straight. As the meeting was adjourned and everyone left for their respective tasks, Emperor turned to N-Pacer. "Go escort Prince back to our home and then meet up with me and Jr. at the edge of the abandoned district as quickly as you can." 

 

Hearing that, Prince's face dropped, his shoulders slumping slightly. So that really was it, he was being sent back home, nothing more than a liability by delaying N-Pacer until she could make it back to the rest of the team. Not to mention, he wanted to help too, Goggles was his best friend, he wanted to right the wrong that had been done unto him. After a moment, he strengthened his resolve and stopped just as the four of them reached the exit. "I'm going too." 

 

At that, Emperor slowly turned to him, his expression unreadable before he shook his head. "No. You are going home. This is could be dangerous, I will not have you in harms way." 

 

Prince simply scowled, gathering all of his courage before standing up a little straighter. "I don't care. I want to help. I CAN help. I'm not weak brother. Goggles was my friend, I don't want to just stand by and watch as you do everything." By the time he finished talking, he was shaking slightly, hating having to speak up against his brother. 

 

Emperor tried to keep his face neutral, although he felt like screaming on the inside. Of all the times to be independent, it had to be now. Now when he couldn't afford to lose someone else, now when it was the most dangerous. He couldn't risk it, he didn't want to deal with the pain again-

 

"You know, I can understand how Prince feels. Might wanna let him help with this. Plus, he's the only one that knows where exactly what we're looking for is." Jr. spoke up, his posture relaxed as always, although it was clear in his eyes that he felt strongly about this. Strong enough to stand against Emperor's decision and speak up about it. "I agree with Jr. as much as I understand you, I understand Prince as well." A look of betrayal crossed the fallen king's face as even N-Pacer spoke up against his word.

 

After a few moments of mustering the three inklings, Emperor realized that he was fighting a losing battle. There was no way to convince these three otherwise. It was either take Prince with them, or fighting with a team that didn't agree with his decisions. He took a deep breath, having to calm himself before he spoke up, not wanting to risk his voice shaking. "...Very well. But the moment there is any danger, you WILL withdraw. Is that understood?" 

 

Prince's eyes practically lit up as Emperor finished talking, and for just a moment, the older inkling felt like he had done the right thing. The younger nodded eagerly, taking a step forward before hesitating and pulling back again. Right, public. Hugs were for private occasions. "Thank you, I promise that I'll turn back if it gets dangerous." A bold lie, Emperor realized, but he couldn't say anything about it. With a heavy sigh, he signaled his team to follow, and soon enough they were on their way towards the abandoned part of Inkopolis. 

 

Slowly but surely, the shiny and clean skyscrapers of the city center started to make way for more cozy apartment buildings, and soon, they started to turn into more and more deteriorated states, the road uneven and full of potholes as the streets became noticeably more empty despite it being the middle of the day. This area of Inkopolis had seen some rough times, with it being one of the oldest districts. More and more inklings had moved away to live closer to the plaza and the square respectively, leaving this area practically empty aside from a few older inklings that clung to the history of this district. 

 

Prince didn't have a particularly hard time navigating the area, taking a few moments to orient himself before slowly starting to lead the team into small side streets and down various back alleys. Eventually, they reached what they had been looking for, a big subway entrance, the sign rusted to the point where it was unreadable, the stairs partially smashed, making it difficult to get up and down. Curiously enough, unlike last time Prince had been in this place, the heavy iron gates that blocked the entrance off last time were opened, the lock completely missing. 

 

Just as he was about to step closer and investigate, he was stopped by an arm spreading out in front of him, and looking up, he saw Emperor surveying the area. "...we're not alone." Those three words alone were enough to have the rest of the team on high alert. Their weapons drawn, they surveyed the area carefully, although after several minutes of nothing, Jr. slowly started to approach the subway entrance. "Maybe you're starting to feel things that aren't there Emp-" 

 

As the blaster wielding inkling got close, a sudden shot of odd looking teal ink missed him by just a hair, causing him to jump back. There were some odd noises coming from all corners suddenly, and after a few moments it seemed that the attackers finally decided to show themselves. Out of the shadows stepped four female Octolings, each weilding a different weapon. However unlike the Octolings under Octavio's command, these four seemed....off. Their tentacles were a striking blue in color, slowly bleeding into a bright green at the tips. If that hadn't been enough, their skin was a sickly shade of green, their eyes hidden by shades as they seemed to regard the intruders. 

 

For a moment, the two teams simply regarded each other, Emperor having his arm in front of Prince once more despite the younger already having drawn his dualies, ready for combat. The Octolings did not move, simply...standing there, watching, waiting. But suddenly, it seemed like someone had flipped a switch, and within seconds, they charged. Two of the Octolings were fitted with Octoshots, another one carrying a pair of dualies and the last one hanging back with a charger. Emperor's team was quick to retort, Jr. quickly engaging the dualie-wielding Octoling while N-Pacer tried to keep the charger away from her team. Meanwhile Emperor and Prince were faced with two quickly advancing Octoshots.

 

"Prince, back up and run away, I don't want you to fight, do you understand?" Emperor's tone was sharp as his eyes never left the enemies, backing up slightly when Prince didn't move. 

 

"N-No! You can't take two of them alone, let me help!" Before Emperor could do much, Prince had wormed his way underneath his older brother's arm, his dualies at the ready and shooting the moment the Octolings came into range. Emperor grit his teeth, but he had no choice now, they couldn't back up, it would just leave their backs open for an assault. He quickly grabbed his dualies, and within moments, he was next to Prince. If he couldn't make the younger run away, he would have to do everything in his might to protect him. 

 

The battle was harsh, even for the once so feared Team Emperor. Jr. was having difficulties hitting the dualie-wielding Octoling, even with his blaster. Emperor and Prince kept dodging and trying to dispose of the Octoshots, but each time they took too much damage they backed up and shook off the ink slowing them down before charging in once more. N-Pacer kept the charger busy, but also had difficulties landing a clean hit with how much they moved around. 

 

But even then, Emperor's team wasn't feared for nothing, and soon enough Jr. managed to knock out one of the Octolings, Emperor taking care of another when he managed to drive it into a corner. Unfortunately though, he had lost track of Prince during the whole ordeal, who, after months of not touching his weapons, found himself cornered by the Octoshot, his feet stuck in ink that made it hard to move. N-Pacer noticed, and quickly took aim just as the Octoshot was about to start firing once more, managing to take the Octoling out in one clean shot. 

 

However, her diving her attention would be the crucial mistake, as just seconds after she took out the second Octoshot, the charger she had been facing managed to land a hit. However, their target had not been N-Pacer. Instead, a pained shriek filled the air. With having been out of ink and his feet stuck in this teal goop, Prince hadn't been able to get out of the way, and after a clean shot to his face, he slumped over, his tentacles dripping with this oddly colored ink, some of it seeming to stain his skin. 

 

" **_PRINCE!!_ ** "

 

Within seconds, Emperor was over where his little brother had slumped to the ground, motionless. While N-Pacer and Jr. disposed of the last attacker, the fallen king moved to kneel down next to the smaller one. "Prince? Prince answer me!" However, it was in vain, the younger did not respond, his head flopped to the side as the teal ink slowly ran down his face, seeming to stain his skin wherever it touched. Emperor quickly started to frantically wipe it off before checking his pulse. 

 

He was still alive, thank the gods. Within seconds the fallen king got up, scooping up his little brother, turning to where the alleyway opened up back to one of bigger streets. "Jr., N-Pacer, secure them. Make sure they won't get away." His tone was cold, like he would have loved to do so much worse to their unconscious enemies. But Prince was his first priority now. He was only knocked out, but this oddly colored ink was worrying him. Ink shouldn't stain like this, and it made a shiver run down his spine.

 

As he ran down the alley, calling for backup and an ambulance over his phone, he swore to return. This abandoned subway entrance was hiding  _ something _ , and he would figure out what it is. He would make sure that Goggles would be put back to rest where he belonged, refusing to fail both of his little brothers.

 


	8. Railroad to Nowhere

While the beginnings of a disaster seemed to stir in a place once thought of as a utopia, one place connected to it laid almost entirely undisturbed. If it wasn’t for one of its returning residents, the Deepsea Metro would have never been even the slightest bit impacted by the events tearing up Inkopolis. Once dubbed as “Number 10,008” by the late tyrant of Kamabo Co., the Octoling was one of the many test subjects to have fallen into the Metro, and was possibly one of the only official test subjects to escape alive.

 

“ _ I see! Then, you’re Hachi! _ ”

 

However, the Octoling hadn’t been alone during that. Four others joined him in the endeavor, one who had mysteriously ended up crashing into the Metro through the ceiling and three others who had come looking for their friend. One of these four, the Octoling got rather attached to like most others the Inkling met. Goggles had affected him too, he even kept the name “Hachi” despite it’s painful reminder of the sweet Inkling as it was Goggles himself who had given the Octoling his name after hearing that no one knew his due to injuries that gave the unfortunate octopus amnesia.

 

Hachi often considered his friend’s actions and reactions while in the Metro and even on the surface. While most called him an idiot, Hachi couldn’t help but find Goggles and his friends to be brilliant creatures. Perhaps it was due to how he vaguely remembered Octoling society, how he saw his kind’s society once reaching the surface or maybe it's simply due to the timing in which they showed up, but he couldn’t help but adore and admire them. They were dedicated to each other despite any circumstance, kind and cheerful even to strangers, even in the darkest situations and they were more than willing to help anyone they decided was a friend, as quick as they might decide on that. With no memories of his own and trying to survive in a hellish maze of trials and death, it was only natural to get attached to them, especially Goggles who was the first to help Hachi in his attempts to escape, all while managing to make it fun with his quirks.

 

“ _ It’s like we’re in a foreign country! _ ”

 

Perhaps that’s why the dazed octopus has wondered back down into its cage. Goggles was long gone, something Hachi never thought could happen after all they survived. With little memories and his closest friend and guide up on the surface ripped away from him, the Octoling doubled back to the only place he could think of, the Metro, Hell. It’s the only place Hachi really could navigate and he still struggled to have the energy for that. However, there’s one other reason the octopus convinced himself to come back. He remembered a story Goggles once told him about when they trained with Rider. How Bobble had scared Glasses and possibly Rider by yelling that her consequence for getting hit would be going to Hell. If Bobble would head to Hell by dying, why wouldn’t Goggles? Hachi had decided not even a day after the funeral that he was going to wait for his friend. Day in and day out, waiting in “Hell” for his friend to show up so they could get started on the various tests needed to get him back up to his friends, back home.

 

Perhaps that might be part of the reason why the Metro regards him in a cautious manner. He was almost like that other Sanitized Octoling he saw. “Dedf1sh” he thought she was called once, the DJ of the Metro. She… Didn’t ever do much. Mostly sticking to her own carriage and making music. However, a Sanitized Octoling was still deadly, even if they acted docile. It takes only a moment for them to kill or infect others. Without showing much feeling beyond a melancholy stare and a slight tilt of the head in confusion when an attempt to talk or gesture to him was made along with becoming nearly deathly pale due to the lack of sunlight, he certainly seemed the part. The only thing setting him as different from the Sanitized Octolings was the magenta ink color and white sclera that had remained on the octopus. However, there is no saying that the Sanitization process hadn’t just been botched on this particular Octoling now that Commander Tartar could no longer direct the hive mind on their jobs.

 

Perhaps that's why the denizens on the Metro skirt around the once friendly, if not lively octopus. At one time, Hachi would have hated to be so obviously separated from those around him. Now however, it was unconcerning. It was almost welcomed even. Having anyone blocking him or his view may cause him to miss a stop, or worse, miss Goggles when he shows up. Hachi couldn’t allow that. He failed his friend once already, he couldn’t do it again. He should have been blown up for failing the test to protect his friend the first time. Yet, he’s alive, so the test isn’t over. Something must be wrong, whether it be faulty systems or the test has yet to be completely failed. Until he’s blown up to oblivion to try again, he must keep going. There has to be someway to complete this test. There’s never a trial without a solution. That’s not how it works in this hellish landscape.

 

With a halt that causes some of the denizens riding the rails to stumble, the train stops again. The Octoling moves from it’s statue-esk state and exits the train. Once exiting, the creature takes out a device, alerting the conductor of the train that his antics are done for the “night”. While it’s impossible to truly tell what’s night and what’s day in the Metro, the Octoling took up calling whenever he finished checking every station “night” as he’d only go eat and fall asleep before repeating the process. The unhealthy rhythm of the cycle had thinned the already slim Octoling to near dangerous levels. Yet Hachi couldn’t care less. He was fit enough to pass several of the hardest stages when he tried them, even showing improvements by completing flawless clears on a few of them. He was fine enough for what he was down there for.

 

Dragging his feet through the tunnel, he makes his way to what's only to be considered his bedroom by this point. With the “thang” that he and Goggles collected so long ago missing, the Octoling set up camp in the circular, spacious room. Littered with blankets and pillows, some food collected while at stops in the Metro and weapons stolen from the multitude of tests that made up the maze of rails the subway glided along, Hachi was more than ready to chase out any enemies from his territory. He had already done so a few times beforehand but the Sanitized Octarians had stopped showing up, apparently in an effort to conserve their now limited numbers until they could figure out what to do with the one-man army.

 

Again, nothing of concern to the Octoling. While he should likely be keeping an eye on them as they started to wake up from their dazed controlled state so they didn’t do anything malicious, the Octoling just couldn’t care anymore. Something rather shameful for being one that considered himself at least slightly more empathetic than most Octolings. But times changed, there’s no room left to be empathetic with the void Goggles left consuming his heart and the idea that he needs to be ready at any moment to help his friend back to the surface consuming his thoughts. For a creature that was at one time mostly logical, everything has been flipped upside down or thrown out by one simple accident.

 

Picking up his stolen E-liter, the Octoling surveys his territory for any unwelcome guests. Switching from weapon to weapon to survey the parts his E-liter can’t show him, the Octoling eventually decides that the coast must be clear, but it’s not as if making a mistake is particularly bad for Hachi. A fight would be a welcomed distraction from the hollow feeling in his chest, death would be a merciful end to the trial he’s faced with. Nothing could really harm him at this point.

 

That doesn’t stop Hachi from dragging over his blaster though. If those Sanitized Octarians wanted him, he was going to make sure they suffered as much as they used to make him suffer first. Fighting was his style, giving up was a disgrace. The Octoling glances over at the food he stored up before shaking his head. He certainly wasn’t hungry. He was hardly even tired, but at least sleeping made time appear to move somewhat faster. At least he could see Goggles until he actually showed up if he fell asleep. Sleeping oddly became about the only thing Hachi could say he “enjoyed” by this point, despite the fact that he used to detest the action as it took away from his time exploring the surface and playing turf.

 

Then again, that was a much, much different time. He had just been freed from all his responsibilities and the world was complete. Now, with Goggles missing to break apart Inkopolis and what the Octoling perceived as his job catching up with him, happiness is not really an emotion that can really be afforded the time of day yet. Maybe when his friend shows back up he can relax long enough to feel joy again, or to just feel in general. Everything is much too hollow for Hachi’s taste. The world, himself, those other Octolings… All far too hollow. Yet, there’s nothing that can be done to fix it. He can’t fix it alone, he’s never really been able to handle anything alone. He needed Goggles to help him and it seems as though his friend got lost and took far too many turns on his way here. If it was any other situation, the Octoling would almost be amused at his friend’s habits.

 

It doesn’t matter though now. Every moment awake is just another unnecessary moment dragged out until he sees his dear companion once again. Gathering up his blankets and pillows in the usual mess he sleeps in, Hachi clutches his blaster tightly and tries to allow himself to drift off again. Hachi can only assume it worked when he opens his eyes next to the screeching of the train, here to pick up it’s usual occupant. Sluggishly picking himself up from his “bed”, Hachi drags himself back towards the train.

 

The Octoling almost doesn’t even notice the slamming sound behind him. A creature Hachi hadn’t noticed in his sluggish state had jumped down from the top of the tunnel. The Octoling doesn’t even tense up at the noise, the most changing in the Octoling being a slight prick of irritation breaking through their previously melancholy state. Hachi doesn’t bother to turn around, it was only going to be a delay if he did. It’s not like he couldn’t take whatever trap the thing behind him was setting up. The Octoling had no intentions to stop, but the cheery voice that called out to him made his ink freeze.

 

“Hachi! Where you headin’ off to? Can I come too?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to do this to y'all, but we're gonna have to call a small hiatus. Hopefully a week at most so we can catch up with the rest of the chapters and then we'll be back to updating once a day!


	9. Synthetic Smile

The creature behind Hachi seemed to skip up behind him and wait while the Octoling came to terms with what he had heard. That… Couldn’t be right, could it? Here of all places? And that voice… So familiar but something so…  _ Synthetic _ about it’s cheerful tone. But… It has to be, doesn’t it? Shaking, the Octoling turned around, almost afraid of what he would see.

 

He was right to be so as well. The creature in front of him was an Inkling. Their strange teal tentacles done up in ponytail, a bright grin that’s almost too  _ perfect _ plastered on their face, A strange mesh of a glowing blue and teal for an eye color… They seemed to have decided on wearing a familiar, sharp suit as their outfit… But the thing that stuck out was the pair of goggles perched on their head. After all this time… Goggles finally appeared where the Octoling thought he would.

 

But yet… It isn’t right. Haven’t they seen this before? It was… Almost like what happened to Rider. He was… No. No one would do that to Goggles? Why would they? Besides, there’s no external signs of that “ooze”, so maybe it’s just how Inklings look in Hell… He’s fine. Goggles is fine. It’s just about getting him out of here, isn’t it?

 

“ **Hachi? Are you ok? You seem to be really spaced out…** ”

 

Goggles smile falters slightly, immediately snapping Hachi from his daze. He can’t make his friend sad after failing him once already. The Octoling puts on his best attempt at a cheery grin, something he hadn’t done in what felt like years.

 

“I’m fine! Just a bit stunned to see you here. I thought you would have been by one of the tests. I’ve been checking around for you for ages!”

 

The Inkling looks almost surprised before fading to a sheepish grin. Hachi couldn’t help but note how off it seemed. It looked natural but something about it just felt… Scripted. Maybe he’s forgotten how to express some emotions too. He’s been gone for quite some time.

 

“ **Sorry about that Hachi! I just woke up a bit ago…** ”

 

The Octoling looks almost stunned. Why is he apologizing for that? It’s not his fault, he took a lot of damage. Speaking of damage, the Octoling is almost stunned to realize there’s no scars from the wreck. Shouldn’t there be scarring?... Perhaps not. An Inkling would probably look as though nothing really happened to them if they came back after death…

 

“You don’t need to be sorry Goggles! After what happened, I honestly think I expected to wait longer.”

 

Goggles just lightly tilts his head, Hachi can almost see the question marks above his head. Despite the slight robotic movements, his emotions are conveyed as easily as they ever were. The Octoling realizes that Goggles may have been completely unaware of what actually happened. It’s not as though he was likely awake after being hit.

 

“ **_After what happened…? What did happen Hachi? How’d we end up back here?_ ** ”

 

Just as Hachi had thought, Goggles was oblivious. The Octoling briefly thinks that perhaps he should just shrug off the question. That it may be kinder not to let the boy in front of him know about the tragedy that struck. However, the thought is banished soon after. It wouldn’t be fair to Goggles… It wouldn’t be nice to hear, but he wants to know and he’ll be upset if he was left in the dark.

 

“Goggles… I… Don’t really think I’m the best to explain this, but if you really want to know…”

 

The Octoling sighs, trying to keep his body from shaking as he once again relives the day that chased him back down here. Seemingly sensing this, the other gripped his hands, giving a light squeeze and a slight smile to try to reassure the other that he was actually there with him, that he could talk about what happened.

 

“You… Died... Died on impact I think… When we got there, we didn’t know what happened. All we really saw was wreckage everywhere and Glasses just stunned in the middle of it… Headphones eventually brought him through but when she asked where you were… He made a start towards the crash site but we were forced to move… Eventually he explained that you shoved him out of the way and got hit yourself… We… We waited there for nearly an hour… You were the last one they found… I think we all knew it was hopeless when we saw how badly torn up you were... But we hoped anyways… The fireman… Shook his head not even a minute after examining you…”

 

The Octoling finishes the story, trying to suppress his shaking. However, either he must have failed or Goggles is more keen on picking up hints than he remembered because the confused smile turns to almost a guilty looking frown. Hachi looks away from his friend, unable to reassure him as his throat seems unable to function properly but can’t stand the guilty look on his face. He feels the Inkling gently drop his hands before hugging him, a now unfamiliar gesture that takes a moment to be reciprocated. The Octoling vaguely realizes that the gesture and look that the now teal Inkling had on actually felt natural for once.

 

The two finally allow the embrace to end after what feels like an eternity, the Inkling looking at his friend with a slightly weary smile, trying to calm down the other. The Octoling steadies his breathing.

 

“ **_I’m really sorry I put you guys through that Hachi…_ ** ”

 

The Octoling shakes his head, once again trying to gesture for Goggles not to feel guilty. Clearing away any remaining thoughts of that day, the Octoling focuses on his companion. He was here now, that’s all that mattered.

 

“It’s not your fault… You’re here now… Is there a way to get you out of here…?”

 

The other smiles a bit more, a slightly cold look seems to form in their eyes. Hachi convinces himself that the look is from uncertainty if he can leave this Hell. Neither of them really liked it much due to the endless tests and the multiple times they nearly died here.

 

“ **I’m not really sure… Maybe I can?... Either way, can I ask you a favor first before we start trying to see if I can or can’t leave?** ”

 

Hachi looks somewhat surprised by the question but hurriedly nods. He needed to make up for failing his friend after all.

 

“ **Could you try to get the others down here? If I really have been gone for awhile, they should probably know I’m here as soon as they can… Who knows how they’ve been handling this…** ”

 

Hachi blinks in confusion for a moment… “The others”...? Oh! Right! The others! Like Glasses, Headphones and Bobble! Goggles’ other friends! Of course he’d want to see them too!... Especially Rider. Now that the Octoling thinks of it, he’s almost afraid to see how the others have changed. He likely has been gone for at least a couple weeks…

 

The Octoling feels himself nod and clears his throat to talk again. The other already seems more than happy with just the nod, though Hachi can’t help but feel as though it’s synthetic again.

 

“Of course I can. I’ll try to get Rider first, ok Goggles?”

 

The other bounces on his heels and nods fervently. The bright grin he used to wear everyday once again stuck on his face, allowing Hachi to again believe that this is Goggles despite the differences.

 

“ **Thank you! I’ll wait here so you don’t have to try and hunt me down when you get back, ok?** ”

 

The other dazedly nods as the enthusiasm from his friend. He lingers for a few moments just comprehending the situation before turning on his heel and heading to the still waiting train. He had a new test to complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus everyone! We're gonna be a little slower with updates now, expect a new chapter every 2-3 days now (hopefully)!


	10. A pair of Goggles

The Inkling watched his friend depart for his mission, torn between confusion and satisfaction. What just happened there? He heard himself ask Hachi to go get his friends but he hadn’t even thought of saying it before… Actually, he didn’t mean to say a lot of things that he said there. They just kinda… Slipped out? No, that wasn’t quite right…

 

The Inkling only snaps out of his daze when he notices his feet carrying him back to the large circular room that Hachi had apparently made his home. He finds himself playing with the weapons littered about, slowly realizing with a building sense of terror that his body is entirely unresponsive to him. That something else seems to have control of him.

 

“ ¿̙͍́̓ʞ͔̤͒̃š͙̼͠ɐ̳͑ʇ͕̠̈̊ ̥̋ǝ͕̬̍̿ɥ͈͍̌̚ʇ̠͉̆̔ ̭͆s̢̰̄̄ǝo̥̠̔̔ƃ̥̅ ʍő̪H̭͑ ̫̑¿ʇ̝̖̉̎ᴉ̛̝̲͞ ̩̌sɐ̺̹͌̄ʍ̝̑ ̮̐'̛̟͇̑,̝̾,̛̛̘̩s̕͟ǝ̧̮͠l̟͓̄̕ƃ̘͒͜ƃ̢̜̆̉ơ̦̥͝פ̟͘,̜͎̏̓,̺̒ ̤˙̧̩̂́˙͚̩́͗˙̪̅͛ͅɹ̞Ǝ͉̏”

 

The Inkling’s ears perk up, once again torn. Half of the Inkling expected to hear a voice soon, the other half thought that the place was abandoned. Turning around and looking up, the Inkling grins at a strange, blue Octoling. It was Sanitized, shouldn’t it be attacking him? Why was he still grinning at it? While trying to comprehend the situation, his mouth again moves apparently on its own.

 

“ **As long as Hachi can get them, it’s going great! He agreed to do it a lot easier than you guys thought he would. He’s even ignoring the obvious change in appearance!** ”

 

The obvious change in what now? Why would he look different? Who’s talking for him? Why are they doing such a bad job actually sounding happy? Well, there should only be one reason he’s not getting attacked by that other Octoling… But… That can’t be it. Hachi would have done something, wouldn’t he?...

 

A cold sense of dread washes over half of the Inkling. No, Hachi wouldn’t have done something. Not if he died and came back. Hachi wouldn’t have done something that might hurt him or kill him again. So that means…

 

“¿ɯ̳̥̿̊ǝ̫̊ɥʇ̧͉͗̍ ̗͘ɹo͉̮̐̓ɟ̮̔ ̥̼͛̅ǝ̣̮̆̉ɹ̨̭͂̐ǝ̭̑ɥ̧̼̔̂ ͚̑ƃ̠̃uᴉ̡͉̏͛ʇ͍̋ᴉ͉̾ɐ̯̎ʍ͇̋̅͜ ͓̐ǝ̡̡͌̈q̭͌ ̜͡ll̹͞,̝͠n̻͒o̼̓ʎ ̡̐ǝ̝̻̅̾s͍̯͛͞o̖͂d̜̚ḓ͘n͉͕̆͋ṡ̞̪̃ I͎͋̀͟ ̲͌͋ͅ˙̡̺̋̕l̩̄n̘͉̓̕ɟɹ̭̌ǝpu͓̍o̟̳̔͘M̨̯̋͠”

 

The Inkling feels himself nod, becoming progressively more scared with the situation. They’re going to use him to hurt the others and there’s nothing he can do about it. There’s nothing the others will do about it either. His friends wouldn’t hurt them, especially after who knows how long he was missing for. Panic starts to drum in the Inkling’s chest as the Sanitized Octoling gives a satisfied smirk.

 

“˙̲͂ƃ̟͋uᴉ͕̃ʞ̯̀lɐʇ̙̏͘ͅ ͖̄̑ͅsn ͍̗͆̂ʍ̯̫̍͠ɐ̮̓s͕͖̓͋ ̫͠ʎǝ̮͇̇͝ɥʇ̨̤̌̚ ̗̌ɟ̼͝ᴉ͚͍͛͛ ͉̇ǝz͖̃ɐ̹̓p̩̀ ̘̹̏͞ɹ̗̝̆͝ᴉ͕̒͘͜ǝ̯̯̓͞ɥ̼̈ʇ̩̘̆̕ ̨͉̄̒ɟ̟̃͋͢ǒ͓̲̀ ̖͂ʇ̭̮̀̽n̬̆ồ̘̜ d̬̐ɐ̹͒u̦̼͗͘s ̬̻̑͝ʇ̦͠͝ͅɥ͕̥̐̃ƃᴉ̟̰͌̔ɯ ʎ̄͜ǝ̠͋ɥ̹̓┴̰ ˙̥̅ǝ̻͒q̣͇̅̔ ̥̔n͎̾o̭̔͘͢ʎ̩͛ ǝ͓̃ʌɐ̳͙̋͠ǝ͐͟l̻̑ ͓̲̿̽ḽ̽l͔̝͒̿,̞̅I͓̺͂̊ ˙p͇̊oõ̜פ̩̊”

 

The Inkling feels himself wave off the other and turn away. Metal rings as the heels turn and walk back to their position on the upper floors of Kamabo, leaving the Inkling alone with his thoughts. How could that walk have gone so badly? It was just like any other day! Now everything is getting messed up in the worst way possible and there’s nothing he can do about it.

 

If the Inkling had any control over himself, he’d shiver at the next thought that crossed his mind. Hachi didn’t appear to be in that good of shape during their conversation. Almost as if he was depriving himself of something while wondering around and looking for him. He can only imagine what other horrible changes his friends have gone through…

 

And what about Rider? Would he even be recognizable anymore? Of course this all had to go down only perhaps a month after Goggles finally got the nerve to ask the S-rank out… The Inkling wanted to cry just thinking about it. But of course, the grin on his face doesn’t even falter in the slightest. He doesn’t get any say in showing feelings like that. If someone came here, they’d know what was happening and likely get the resolve to stop it. That’s not allowed. That would ruin everything this was for…

 

The Inkling feels himself shake his head, as if clearing away any unwanted thoughts. The grin stiffens slightly before his mouth opens again, seemingly talking to himself in this empty dome.

 

“ **You know, you’re a bit… Annoying. It’s getting kind of confusing having two reactions to everything. You can’t do anything about this so can’t you at least… Just go to sleep or something like that?** ”

 

Irritation and a strong sense of hate wash over the Inkling, feelings that he firmly believe aren’t his own. The anger that retaliates however, might be.

 

‘ _ Why would I make it easier for you to torture my friends?! Why are you guys even doing this?! Tartar is gone! There’s nothing left for them! _ ’

 

The Inkling feels himself shrug before laying down on the pillows Hachi had gathered. Staring up at the ceiling, both versions of the Inkling stay quiet for a moment before the warped one speaks again.

 

“ **Don’t know. Who cares? I have a job to do and you’re not gonna mess it up… But think of it this way, there has to be some sort of motivation, right? And Tartar made them, and by extent, me. So it has to be something to do with him or the way Sanitized creatures are made.** ”

 

Again, both fall back into silence. The sane Inkling can only wonder about the creature he’s stuck with. Why does it occasionally appear sane? Why is that grin plastered on its face if he can’t feel happy? Why exactly was he made? Who’s directing him and why? Shouldn’t this have been over by now?

 

Obviously, not even the other can answer these questions, not even knowing exactly what scheme he’s playing part in. So the Inkling can only be left to it’s thoughts to try to work something out.

 

An intrusive thought drags his mind off of his sanitized version for a moment. Hachi was going to get the others, wasn’t he? What did they need to be down here for? Would Hachi actually be able to get them? The Inkling finds himself hoping his friend fails one of his tasks for once, or at least snaps out of his daze while away from the distorted atmosphere of the Deepsea Metro. Worry settles in his stomach as his Sanitized self closes his eyes, seemingly deciding that putting them both into oblivion until the Octoling returns is a decent enough idea.


	11. Riding Underground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here you have the sole reason for the hiatus: Rider being uncooperative. If you want to blame someone, blame Rider.

Stepping out into the light for the first time in what felt like years was jarring. It almost reminded Hachi of the first time he had set foot in Inkopolis this way. The time he had followed Goggles into the light, into a better life. A better life that sadly hadn't lasted too long before being shaken up by an accident no one could have predicted. One life snuffed out, and so many more slowly starting to fall to pieces. 

 

Shaking his head, the Octoling decided to focus. This was important. Goggles needed his friends, not just him, but Rider, his team, and perhaps others too. It would be ridiculous to assume that he had been the only one affected by the quirky Inklings loss. 

 

As he slowly roamed through the streets, he kept his ears perked for some of the whispers, still trying to remember the directions to the square. Thats where Rider used to hang around back then, wasn't it? He must be there, or at the very least Hachi would have the chance to run into someone he actually knew, someone he could ask about the yellow-green Inkling's whereabouts. 

  
  


It took him longer than anticipated, but as the sun started to slowly dip further west, he finally arrived in the bustling mess that was Inkopolis Square. For a moment, he felt like he had done back in time, still remembering the first time Goggles had shown him around. Hachi found himself slowly starting to wander, from Crusty Sean's truck to the gear shops. 

 

When he passed the weapon shop however, he stopped, ears perking as a few bits of conversation caught his attention.

 

"Its scary, isn't it?"

 

"Yeah, I've heard not even Skull could stop him." 

 

"That Rider guy has gone unchecked for too long while he was in ranked. He thinks he can just rampage through the city like that and get away with it..."

 

Sadly the Octoling didn't catch much more, as the two Inklings slowly moved further away, and he didn't feel like following them and getting himself into trouble. What they talked about though certainly caught his interest. Rider was rampaging? 

 

The thought worried him, he hadn't known Rider for very long, but he had known the green inkling long enough to know that he was strong. Very strong even. What had happened during the time he spent underground? As his thoughts kept running, his feet slowly carried him away from the square, across the crossroads, and further into a residential area. 

 

It wasn't until he saw a flash of green that he finally snapped out of his daze, blinking and turning around just in time to catch a particular inkling do the same. The two mustered each other for a solid few minutes, neither of them saying anything. Hachi wasn't sure how to start, how to explain. 

 

Meanwhile, Rider hasn't had the best day today. Ever since Gloves revealed to him what happened to Goggles' grave, his anger had been past the boiling point. He would rampage through Inkopolis during the day, hunting down suspects and threatening those that got in his way, but once night fell and he found himself back in his apartment, he would allow himself to break down, to let his emotions swing from one extreme to the next and slowly weep himself to sleep, only to repeat the cycle on the next day. 

 

And now, after having to deal with another day of no leads, not to mention Skull trying to hunt him down all week, he suddenly ran into someone he had not expected to see again. Granted, he hadn't known much about Hachi to begin with, but it had been clear that the Octoling had been just as attached to Goggles as the rest of them. After the blue inkling's funeral, he had just...disappeared. Granted, during all the grief and confusion that had followed the loss, nobody really had noticed, but when it became apparent, nobody knew where the Octoling had gotten off to.

 

To suddenly see him back in Inkopolis, and in such a state, it rang a few bells with Rider. 

 

It alarmed him even more so when the Octoling simply motioned him to follow without as much as a greeting. On one side, Rider didn't want to bother, he wanted to find out who had defiled his partner's grave and bring them to justice. But on the other hand...this could be important. Maybe Hachi knew something he didn't? 

 

Before long, he found himself shouldering his Roller and following the other, ignoring all the stares and scared glances the two got. The pair must have been walking for quite some time, the scenery around them slowly changing from the bustling inner city to the less populated outskirts. Hachi was leading him somewhere, but where?

 

It wasn't until the two of them had traveled into the abandoned part of Inkopolis that Rider finally decided to speak up, the silence unnerving him a little. "So...where the hell have you been all this time? More importantly, where are you taking me?" 

 

Hachi pondered the questions for a moment, unsure how to answer. Should he tell him? Then again Rider might not believe him. Not that Hachi would really know how to make the news believable to anyone. "...I think it would be easier to just show you. Just follow me." He motioned to the other once more before slowly winding his way through the back alleys of decrepit buildings, towards the spot he had emerged from just a few hours earlier. 

 

The alley opened up to a small space between the houses, an abandoned subway entrance smack in the middle of it. Looking around, it seemed a fight had taken place there not too long ago, splatters of yellow and oddly teal ink staining the floor and some of the walls. As the two approached, both of them could feel eyes resting on them, watching from somewhere in the dark. Hachi wasn't particularly bothered, he had gotten used to it, but Rider could feel chills running down his spine, fingers tightening a little around his Roller. 

 

The yellow-green inkling stopped when Hachi moved to descend into the darkness, standing at the top of the stairs. "Down there? Are you out of your fucking mind? If this is some kind of joke, its not fucking funny." He could feel his anger rising. Rider couldn't remember much of what happened down in the metro, but what he did recall wasn't pleasant. 

 

Stopping, Hachi tilted his head. Perhaps he should have expected some resistance from the other, especially since he himself still wasn't sure if this was really the right thing to do. Of course he wanted Goggles to be happy, he wanted to start looking for a way to get him out of hell. But he had asked for this, asked for his friends. He couldn't deny the other, could he? 

 

"I'm not really the type to make jokes. Just follow me, you'll see why I'm bringing you down there." 

 

Rider was wary, understandably so, going down there again? After everything that had happened? He would much rather not. And yet, he was intrigued, why would the Octoling try to bring him here? Hachi certainly didn't look like he had been sanitized, so Rider doubted that it had to do with Tartar's second coming. 

 

While Hachi wasn't the best at reading social cues, he could tell that Rider was unsure about this whole situation, and after a moment, he decided to give it his best shot at reassuring the other. "I will bring the others too after this. There's a good reason, I promise." 

 

Still not being completely convinced, Rider decided that at the very least he should let someone know what was happening. Pulling out his phone, he dropped a message with his location attached about him being dragged into some mess, and that if he wasn't back within a week to come look for him. He sent it to the first person in his recent contacts, which happened to be Skull. It wasn't surprising, seeing as the purple inkling had been hunting him down for the past few months. 

 

After that, he sighed, stashing his phone away before looking up at the other. "...fine. But if this is some kind of sick prank I'm gonna make you wish that you never crawled out of this hole." It seemed his threat did little to phase the Octoling, but at the very least it made himself feel about this whole situation. With one more glance to the sky, he slowly started to follow Hachi down into the darkness of the metro.

 

By the time they reached central station, Rider felt more uneasy than ever before. His instincts were screaming at him to turn around, to run as quickly as he could, and yet the Octoling in front of him kept turning around, kept motioning him to follow. Rider wasn't sure why he kept doing it, by all means this couldn't lead to anything good, could it?

 

As they waited for the train to arrive, he looked around, noting the broken pieces laying not far from where they were standing, only reminding him of what they had gone through down here. He barely managed to suppress a shudder, only getting snapped out of his thoughts by the arrival of the train. 

 

He shot Hachi a small look, for a moment considering questioning the other once more, but then quickly decided to drop that idea. He doubted that he would get much more out of the Octoling, even if he used force. Instead, he settled down in one of the seats, his trusty Gold Dynamo in front of him. As weird as it sounded, the weapon had become an object of comfort for him in the last few months. The only constant in all of this madness. Sighing, he leaned back slightly, closing his eyes as he listened to the sound of the metro slowly trudging through the darkness of the underground.

 

He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew was that he was being shaken awake by Hachi. Rider groggily got up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before picking up his Roller and following the Octoling out to the station. Looking around, he realized that this wasn't one of the tests. This was one of the chambers where the thangs used to lie. What were they doing here?

 

" **Hachi! You're back already!** "

 

That voice- 

 

No. No it couldn't be. There was no way in hell-

 

And yet, as he followed Hachi through the tunnel and entered the circular room, there, among weapons, blankets and pillows, sat an inkling that was strikingly familiar, yet strange. For a moment, Rider wanted to pinch himself, wanted to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. This couldn't be right, could it?

 

"Goggles...?"

 

The teal Inkling beamed, his smile a little too wide, a little too perfect. Without much of a warning, Rider found a pair of arms wrapped around him, and while he was desperate to simply cling to the other, something felt off.

 

" **_Rider! I'm so glad you're here! I've… I’ve missed you so so much.._ ** ." 

 

One half of his mind screamed that this was Goggles, this was his partner, he was back, he was alive. But the other half was full of blaring sirens, all screaming threat,  _ threat _ ,  **_THREAT_ ** . It wasn't hard for him to pinpoint why. Goggles looked off, his tentacles too light, his eyes too bright of a color. He knew exactly what happened, and the mere idea of it made bile rise in his throat. 

 

Sanitized. Someone had brought Goggles back only to sanitize him. 

 

Rider could still recall while he had been possessed by that horrid sludge, thoughts that weren't his own dictating his actions, his body moving without his command, hurting those he cared about even as he tried to stop it. It had been hell, and to think that Goggles was going through the very same thing right now...

 

" **_Rider...? Are you okay? You look like you're spacing out… Did something happen?_ ** ”

 

No...this was still Goggles. His Goggles. Even if he looked different, it had to be, right? The universe couldn't be THIS cruel. After a moment, he just wraps his arms tightly around the other, as if afraid that if he let go, Goggles would simply vanish. 

 

"I missed you..." 

 

The teal Inkling’s face relaxes back into a smile, though it was still slightly unnatural. Rider felt a slight bit more pressure as the other hugged him tighter for a moment to reassure him. Goggles was here… He’s alive…

 

“I’ll… Let you two catch up. I gotta go find the others still.”

 

Rider jumps for a moment, looking back at Hachi. He had almost forgotten that the Octoling was there… Goggles however, just beams brightly again, A bit of laughter escaping his lips. Gods how he missed that bubbly laughter…

 

“ **Thank you Hachi! Sorry if it’s a hassle…** ”

 

The Octoling shakes his head, waving off the apology. Again, the Octoling leaves the teal Inkling, off to finish his job. Rider simply stares back at where Hachi had exited from, having issues processing the entire situation. A gentle tug on his arm calls back his attention. The teal Inkling smiles when he looks back and gestures for them to sit down on the makeshift bed. He doesn’t even somewhat resist Goggles pulling him down onto it to curl up to him.

 

A content sigh escapes the teal Inkling, though the tone almost sounds forced to Rider… He must be hearing things. Goggles may have changed a bit but he was never one for acting, especially when they were alone. The most he would ever act, from what Rider saw, was when he playfully pretended to have forgotten something or to not realize what he had done despite the fact they both knew the truth. It’s not forced, he’s just tired. He’s been using too much energy terrorizing Inkopolis since last time he saw Goggles, of course he’s just tired…

 

The yellow-green Inkling yawns, the exhaustion that he’s been ignoring finally washing over him at full force as he acknowledges how much energy he’s been spending. Glancing over at Goggles, the teal Inkling looks almost confused before a look of realization crosses his face. The other gently pushes Rider back to lay down.

 

“ **_You should really get some rest… You look tired... We can talk more later, ok?_ ** ’

 

Rider hesitates for a moment, a flicker of fear rising in his chest. What if Goggles isn’t actually there when he wakes up? It’s happened so many times before… It can’t happen again! Not this time! Again, the other Inkling picks up on his companions feelings, looking troubled for a moment before smiling and leaning close to their partner, followed by a quick, gentle kiss in hopes of calming him.

 

“ **_I’ll be right here when you wake up so please get some rest…_ ** ”

 

A slight shiver runs down Rider’s spine. It’s been awhile since he’s received such a gesture of affection. With a defeated sigh the Inkling curls up to his beloved, knowing fully well he can’t actually argue with Goggles as tired as he is and with what had happened a few months prior. With a soft humming from the other, all the green Inkling can remember is that distorted smile his lover now wore before he faded off into a dreamless sleep.


	12. Underground Blues

As this hidden trap snared yet another victim, harsh clouds hovered over Inkopolis. Rain was never good for Inklings or Octolings, leaving a majority of Inkopolis empty for once. However, a few teams still scattered themselves about the shattered utopia. One of these teams was the once renown Blue Team. After the grave of their fourth member was disturbed, the three remaining Inklings hardly ever rested anymore, searching for whoever would do that to their dear friend with almost inhumane anger shining brightly in each of their eyes. It was quite the change to see in the team who used to be unable to take a match seriously, even against the strongest of opponents.Yet, death changes many people and it seems as though the consequences of losing this ray of sunshine has it’s claws in deeper than anyone could have expected.

 

Yet, they weren’t completely gone. They weren’t yet beasts. They weren’t the type to attack without cause and they could still be reasoned with. A particular green Inkling was glad to find this out the first night he hunted them down to force them to rest. It seems as though they hadn’t forgotten their other friends yet since they still listen to the green Inkling that brought them to the Square, even if they do want to argue.

 

Though, with how far the Idiot Team has ventured off looking for those horrid people, even Gloves may have trouble finding them. On the outskirts of Inkopolis, there lied several abandoned zones, ranging from stages that never made it past testing to old neighborhoods that had their residents taken by the sweeping city life. Here is where the blue Inklings had travelled to, dearly hoping that the culprits thought they'd be safe here.

 

They weren't the only ones to have travelled here though. An Octoling the team got to know rather well emerges from an almost entirely hidden passageway, again pausing and blinking to adjust to the lighting. Hachi almost wonders if he'll ever get used to surface light again if even a dreary day like this dazes him. But that's not to be worried about right now. Goggles wanted more of his friends down there, and based on the shape Rider was in, who knows how long he'll be up to keep him company. He needed to find others as quickly as he could.

 

Rushing by the abandoned buildings and weaving a path between streets to return to Inkopolis, the Octoling almost doesn't notice the people he nearly crashed into until both himself and their group stop to look back.

 

“H-Hachi? Where did you come from? Where have you been?! Are you okay?”

 

Ever the worried one, of course Headphones asks about where he's been, rushing over to check on him while everyone else remains stunned. Slowly the trance breaks with Specs also coming over to check on his missing friend and Bobble skipping up to him soon after. As far as the Blue Team was concerned, the Octoling may as well be an unofficial fifth member to the team. It's almost as if the entire group forgot why each of them were here until Hachi finally snaps out of his daze as well.

 

“Glasses, Headphones, Bobble… I-I’m sorry I disappeared… But I can't quite explain it now. Just please… Follow me. You'll get just about everything explained when we get to where we need to go. I just… Can't explain in words… My apologies…”

 

The Blue Team glance at each other with confusion, and in Glasses and Headphones’ case with some anxiety. Of course they trusted Hachi, he was their friend after all… But the way he had worded that… Something had to have been wrong.

 

“Okay Hachi! We'll go!”

 

Three of the group cast a shocked look over to the speaker. Bobble was grinning once again and had even opted to hold onto Hachi's hand, showing that at least she intended to go where the Octoling led regardless of where that may be. Despite their nerves, it's not as though Glasses and Headphones could just take off without her. Glasses sighs in defeat with a slightly reluctant nod to Headphones. They were ready to go where Hachi needed them to be.

 

The Ocotling sighs, again slightly having doubts about his job, but he shakes his head and starts leading the group to the heart of the abandoned town, eventually turning back down into that tunnel where the subway station lies. The Inklings cast curious looks around. The place was abandoned. Why were they here? It’s not as if a train would show up. Perhaps that would have been true if Hachi hadn’t removed a familiar device from his hip. A couple of taps and a few minutes later, all three Inklings could make out the sound of an approaching train before it had even pulled into it’s stop. Glancing over at the apprehensive Inklings, the Octoling has his doubts and goes to drop Bobble’s hand, only to receive a death grip from the Inkling in question as a response. Obviously she wasn’t backing out even if she needed reassurance. Staring at the Inklings for only a moment longer, he leads them onto the train. “He” was waiting for them after all.

 

As the ride goes on, the Octoling glances over from time to time, worried about his dear friends. It seems as though Glasses and Headphones had developed a bit of a phobia of trains from the last time, they’re sitting rather close to the Octoling and rather close together. Then with Bobble, she may as well be sitting in his lap for how close and clingy she is. Hachi can see the strain in her smile, she must be scared… But, there’s also a familiar bit of happiness struggling to be seen in there. He’s almost stunned to see she can be somewhat happy and realizes he might have caused her and the others much more misery by disappearing…

 

But this was nothing compared to what would come. The sudden thought scared the Ocotling and he struggled not to show it. Sure, Goggles was back, they were going to see Goggles again, and that was wonderful. Yet, that looming thoug-... No. It wasn’t just a thought, just a make believe idea. The truth was still pounding at the back of the Octoling’s mind. This was going to hurt them one way or another, even if they tricked themselves into thinking everything was fine like he and Rider did. Eventually this facade will crash and they’re going to be helpless to escape until it does. And when it does… Hachi shivers and looks at the others, hoping they didn’t notice.

 

Apparently they didn’t, or at least they weren’t going to ask about it. The trip passes in silence, Hachi trying hard to ignore his thoughts from earlier. At last, the train screeches to a halt and the doors open. With a quick look at his CQ-80, the Octoling gently moves as to alert the others that it’s their stop. Getting off, two of the Inklings freeze in place for a bit as their teammate and their guide head up the tunnel. The two share an apprehensive look and decide to stay back for a bit.

 

“Why would Hachi bring us back here…? Didn’t he hate this place? Didn’t he hate it even more than we did?”

 

Headphones nods. It was true that Hachi had hated this place with a passion. In fact, he so desperately hate it that he grew to adore any high place he could get to. He sometimes terrified the Square by being on top of the Deca Tower, just standing there and looking around until one of his friends yelled for him to climb down. It makes no sense for him to want to come back to his prison.

 

As the two Inklings ponder this, bouncing their thoughts back and forth, a pair of footsteps interrupt them. Hachi had returned and he just stares at the two for a moment. He tilts his head as if he’s never seen anything like them, caught up in some sort of trance. Eventually their worried expressions get through to him and he shakes his head. He begins to speak again, but he keeps his voice as quiet as he can.

 

“I need to go. I’ll be back. Go up ahead, Bobble is there and I doubt you’ll be able to get her to move. Please try your hardest to keep quiet though… I’ll be back… I really hope you’ll forgive me for all of this eventually…”

 

The Octoling passes by them without another word, entering the train and taking off. They had no option to leave now despite how unnerved the last line had made them. What did he think he did that was that bad? Why wouldn’t Bobble move? The only way to find out was to follow Bobble. One last scared look was exchanged between the two before they walked into the tunnel that led to the familiar circled room.

 

Except, it wasn’t all that familiar anymore. There was no thang, just blankets, weapons and food scattered about, with three Inklings in the middle of it all. One was passed out, holding another’s hand, which Glasses and Headphones take a moment to realize that it was Rider who’s asleep. Bobble was not to far away from him and she hugging the last of the three, she looked as if she might be crying despite having her face buried in the other’s suit.

 

Speaking of the other one… With a gasp of shock and what would have been a scream if they weren’t gestured to be quiet by the last Inkling, Headphones and Glasses stare at the familiar suit and pair of goggles on the last one. That was THEIR Goggles, no doubts about it! Yet, like the others, they had noticed the change too. However, there wasn’t a contest between thoughts for these three. It was their Goggles, nothing could change that. They couldn’t force themselves to deny that this was the Inkling that was pretty family to them. The one they had ripped away from him. The other grins sheepishly at their stunned looks and quietly speaks, trying not to wake his companion.

 

“ **Hiya guys! Sorry it’s been a while! I just woke up not too long ago! I’d offer you a hug but I don’t think Bobble can move right now and I think Ridie will have a panic attack if I try to get my hand back…** ”

 

The two pause for a moment to comprehend what their friend had said before rushing over to join Bobble, both trying to comfort Bobble both to stop her crying and to hug him themselves. Eventually, Bobble moves away, allowing the other two to reassure themselves that he’s here before curling back up to him.

 

“How… When did…”

 

Glasses falls silent once more, unable to actually ask every thought running through his mind. The teal Inkling just guiltily smiles, obviously unable to answer him despite seeming to understand what he’d love to ask. Whispered conversations about everything and nothing at all begin to take place between the group, as if that accident never happened. As if he wasn’t changed, wasn’t warped. A sick satisfaction makes half of the teal Inkling want to hurl as he realizes the snare had caught three more victims and there’s more yet to come.


	13. Plus 4 makes 9

The next time the Octoling surfaced, he was stunned not to find any of Goggles friend’s well past nightfall. In fact, it took a few days for the Octoling to even glimpse one of the people his now teal friend wanted him to find. The green Inkling had seemed in a panic at the time and quite easily lost Hachi without trying to. It took the octopus days to even see him again.

 

However, another group had wandered to the entrance of the Metro. The S4 wasn’t exactly keen on taking a break from their hunt, but it’s not as if they could argue with their leader or ignore the suspicious circumstances that led them here. Usually the airhead, Skull being so concerned was cause for worry within the group. It had been a few days since Rider had sent that text and gone missing. Knowing how the other X rank is now, he wouldn’t have bothered to text his adversary unless he was concerned himself… Especially since he had even asked to be searched for. He must have felt that something was horribly wrong…

 

And so, they were here. Skull had finally told his teammates about the message once realizing the conditions for the search were met. As confused as they were, it took Army no time at all to find the coordinates of the location Rider had sent in his message. He even led them there with ease as confused as the group was to be led to such a place. They could even begin to understand why Rider was so nervous. This place had a sinister air about it no matter what way it was spun, especially after Aloha had noted the dried yellow ink, signalling that this now abandoned looking subway was where Emperor’s Team had been forced to retreat from.

 

Slowly venturing into the subway, the S4 spreads out. Not too far from each other, but far enough to cover ground, looking for anything odd. It seemed like a regular subway confusingly enough. There shouldn’t even be trains here based on the moss, water and cracks all around the place. Shattered vending machines, flickering lights desperately still trying to catch someone’s attention with the last of their life and sunlight fighting to get through the clouds, past the buildings and slip through the cracks give the place a strange melancholy feel.  It wasn’t lost on the S4 if their tense silence was anything to go by. However, such a state can’t last forever.

 

“Eh? What’s thiiiiissss?... Army, could you come loooooook at this?”

 

The other three stop at the sound of their cyan teammate chatting. With a confused look, Army heads over first to see what Mask may have found, followed by Skull and Aloha after a moment. While Army held onto the strange white device, all four had to question it. A strange white device with seemingly only a control stick and a card that was with it. The card mentioned a place called “Kamabo Corporation” a place that the team could safely say they never heard of until now.

 

At one point or another, it seems like turning the strange thing around revealed something. Aloha had been the first to notice a white button blended into the box. A click brought up a strange screen. A black, pulsing circle highlighted a station that lacked a name, moving the stick, to the line off the side, the words “Deepsea Metro Entrance” came up. With a glance at each other, the orange Inkling lightly pressed down on the stick, getting the box to respond with a small beeping noise and a red flash before the screen disappeared. Pressing the white button again failed to bring the screen back up, though the bright red flashes from a light on the box continued.

 

Sighing and resuming their search, the S4 were caught off guard when a loud screeching noise was heard. Looking over alerted, the four notice a train pulling into the station, a strange blue creature getting off of it once the doors open. With what appears to be a look at them despite the lack of eyes, the small creature notices their confusion.

 

“Ah, you’re new here… And Hachi isn’t with you… Welcome to the one of the entrances to the Deepsea Metro, an underground railroad for the denizens of the deep and whoever else should wonder down here. That device you picked up is called a CQ-80. It’s what you’ll be using to make your way through the Metro should you choose to go. I am your conductor, C.Q. Cumber”

 

With a look at each other, the Inklings slowly approach the blue creature. It was obvious he knew more of this place than they did and he didn’t seem outright hostile. But what was that about a “Hachi” and new people? Didn’t they know a Hachi and there were other people down here?

 

“Could we ask you something? Who else have you seen down here? We’re looking for a friend…”

 

Of course the now hesitant tones of Aloha’s voice ring out first. He was always the one to talk to new people, to try to charm them to his liking. However, his usual confidence is missing from the question, as if he’s almost scared to talk to someone he doesn’t know. It was a horrible thing to realize, but there was nothing any of them could do for now.

 

“Hm… Well, beyond Hachi returning, Glasses, Headphones and Bobble returned with him at one point and there was another Inkling with a dynamo and greenish ink.”

 

The team shares an apprehensive look. Why was the blue team here too? Why have none of them left? It didn’t seem all that hard to leave… What trouble did they run into?

 

With a sigh and nod from Skull, the leader of the S4 heads onto the train, he said he’s look for Rider after all… He said he’d get his friend back and everything be damned if he WASN’T going to drag this asshole back to Inkopolis with him, especially now that the blue team also apparently needed help. It takes only a few seconds for the S4 members to follow their leader, glad that his haunting aura seems to have allowed them to walk off to an empty carriage.

 

Eventually the train speeds off again, down into the dark depths of a hidden trap. Unknown to the S4 was about to run into the snare as it comes to meet them early. Again, the train halts and a bit of mechanical laughter follows it, the doors closing in a different carriage before speeding off. In their own little space, they thought nothing of it until the door opened again and a surprised, if not forced gasp sounds out.

 

“ **_The S4! When’d you guys get down here?!_ ** ’

 

The sudden rush and hug the familiar sounding intruder followed up with was quite the shock to Skull. He was the closest to the door to ward people off from coming in, so naturally he was the first to receive the strange outburst. When the oddity straightened up, the S4 couldn’t even speak, though it suddenly became clear why the others had yet to return. This… Couldn’t be Goggles, could it? He was dead… Grave dug up and body missing… Yet… Here he is, though his colors were now strange. Paler than usual, teal instead of blue, and those strange glowing eyes… Did Inklings look like this after death? Exactly where were they?

 

“ **You guys are sure starin’ at me an awful long time… Hehe, did you forget who I was~? I’m Goggles~!** ”

 

Again silence. Yet the teal Inkling doesn’t seem to mind as he skips up to his friends and hugs them. Though one of them had to speak before the teal Inkling got upset with them… Aloha, being the natural charismatic charmer, whether he was acting or not, seems to have taken the cue from the situation, plastering a passable, confident grin on his face.

 

“Sorry about that Goggles! It’s just been a real long time since we’ve seen ya. We didn’t expect to find you here… Well, wherever “here” is anyways. How’ve you been?”

 

The teal Inkling looks back over at the party king. Aloha can only assume he’s projecting how he looks onto the cheerful blue idiot with how fake that smile seems to him. Not to mention that tone from earlier had an odd coldness behind it despite the fact that he seemed cheerful… The other’s haven’t mentioned it so he must be imagining things…

 

“ **I’ve been better. Sorry for leaving you guys alone for a while, but I don’t think I can leave this place for now, and I only woke up a few days ago I think… Hachi’s been finding my friends so I wouldn’t be so lonely… Oh! That reminds me! We’re playin’ hide and seek! Wanna join?** ”

 

The S4 glance at each other. Again, something certainly seems off about all of this, but what could they do about it? For as impossible as it seemed, this was Goggles, wasn’t it? Could they really deny the poor boy after he died only to come back and get trapped down here? No… They might seem and act cold to him from time to time, but they couldn’t be this cruel… The sniper shakes his head a bit to clear his thoughts and decides to speak.

 

“I guess so. We might as well get a look around this place…”

 

The strange glowing Inkling grins, bounding back over to the leader of the group and hugging him. While none of them actually wanted to play this game, the apparent joy Goggles got from their acceptance wasn’t something they were going to ruin… Though it would be quite the odd sight to see the S4 behaving like this…

 

“ **I’ll message the others and let them know they gotta find four more people now~!** ”

 

With a slight sigh from the cyan Inkling, the group silently agrees they’ll just have to go along with what Goggles says for now. They may as well make the boy’s hell a bit more enjoyable until he can hopefully leave it… When the train stops again, the five Inklings exit. A giggle escapes the teal one as he runs off to hide. The others share a vaguely confused, vaguely suspicious look before separating to hide as well. They couldn't let their teammate down after all.


	14. Checkmate

“So? How is he…?”

 

“The doctors said that whatever that teal “ink” was, was apparently flushed out with an ink transplant… But Prince is being kept here a few more days to make sure… It was spreading by time we got him here and he was running a rather dangerous fever up until a day or two ago…”

 

Once an utopia, everything seemed to be falling apart in Inkopolis recently. As more and more of the cities strongest fighters disappear into the dark, two more of these fighters were waiting in the hospital. The former king of turf, Emperor, rarely left the hospital during visiting hours anymore. Reasonable given that his little brother was still recovering from the ambush they had suffered two weeks ago. From a car crash, to a grave robbing, to  _ this _ . The world has just been crumbling in on itself since they lost that ray of sunshine… Or at least, that’s how Emperor viewed it. Why should he not? The competitor that taught him to be a better king, the strange Inkling that had somehow wormed his way into being family, into being another younger brother to protect to the king, was cruelly ripped away from all of them and for a while there, it appeared as though he was going to lose the other too… No, he couldn’t handle that, he wouldn’t allow it. Prince will make a fully recovery… He’s sure…

 

As troubling thoughts danced in the king’s head, the green pawn next to him had his own worries to consider. Of course, Gloves was concerned about Prince as well… If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be here right now to check on the brothers… But there was a lot he had to worry about, even more so than usual lately… Of course he’s done his fair of worrying since the accident, spending his days running around to check on Goggles’ fr- on  _ his  _ friends, keeping them up with news and just trying to ensure that they’d  _ live _ through the next day… Of course, checking on some of them was harder than others, the roller mains in particular were tricky… But he had managed well enough. He was one of the few who could talk to Rider, it seemed like Mask reluctantly kept himself alive with whatever meals Gloves brought to him throughout the day, Skull hesitantly listened to him long enough to get patched up to avoid serious injury, Aloha was dragged out of his bed, Army dragged out of his books, both just long enough to keep themselves alive and healthy…  Of course, he took care of blue team and Emperor and Prince, as well as looked for Hachi… But from what Gloves knew, the two former teams were better off than Rider and the S4 and he could only hope Hachi was doing well as he never had enough time to do a thorough search for the octopus while trying to care for the others…

 

Now however, all he did was search… He had to help track down whoever robbed Goggles of his peaceful rest… And now he had to find the others. It started not long after he had told Rider what happened… He was rampaging and suddenly he was gone… The next day, the blue team vanished just as suddenly, not returning to check in with Gloves to be forced to rest up. Then, a couple days ago, it appeared as if the entirety of the S4 vanished into thin air. Even with Skull as their leader and how often he gets lost… It was far too unlikely for Army to not lead them back. Army knew the city better than most of its residents due to studying it’s paths… For him to be unable to lead the team back was near impossible… No… Everyone was just vanishing and if Gloves could allow himself to rest, he’d surely be in the hospital with Prince due to stress, fear and worry… Of course, he hasn’t let Emperor in on this little fact yet. The king was far too worried with his brother and the gloved pawn was reluctant at best to add onto his worry like everything has been adding up onto him… Yet, he really couldn’t avoid it much longer. For as oblivious as the king can be, he’s been keeping an eye on the Blue team as well and there’s been chatter of Rider’s disappearance… He’ll find out soon and it would be better received coming from his green pawn. While it may just be delusional thinking, Gloves was almost sure that Emperor seemed to trust him more than others. Enough to know that his pawn wouldn’t try to pull his leg in such a grim looking situation.

 

The click of a clock handle snapping to it’s next minute drags the pawn from his thoughts… It was sunset, visiting hours for this hospital would be over soon and he had to search around a bit more… It was nearly time to go… But perhaps he should let Emperor in on the news first… With a reluctant sigh, the pawn turns to face his king, an upset and grim expression making its home on his face… It appeared as if the sudden turn and the expression caught the regal Inkling’s attention. A look of reluctant concern plays on the king’s face, as if he was wondering if he really wanted to know what the other was about to say…

 

“Emperor… I need to get going. I have to go look again… I hate to be the one to inform you… But the Blue team is missing, along with Rider and now the S4 more likely than not. So we have about nine people missing that knew Goggles. I need to find them… If not for my own sanity, for Goggles’ sake, I need to find them…”

 

The green pawn vaguely realized he sounded like a broken record as he said that he needed to find them over and over… But he couldn’t care… He did need to find them and it was slowly driving him mad that he let them go missing in the first place… He couldn’t lose more of his friends and he couldn’t fail Goggles like this… He’d find them, and he’d find the twisted creature that sent them into this mess too… Maybe then he can feel somewhat happy again and actually help the others move on… But now’s not that time. That’s wishful thinking for a grim looking future, he had best focus on the present if he ever wanted to hope to reach such a blissful ending.

 

As the green pawn turned away to leave, still lost in his own thoughts, the fallen king stood there in mute horror, in stunned silence… They… They all couldn’t be missing, could they…? Perhaps they were just pulling a pr-... No, something in Emperor cut the thought off. Most of them weren’t the type for such pranks and Gloves certainly wouldn’t be as stupid or cruel to think up such a devilish torture while Prince was lying in the hospital… They really were missing… What could have led them all away? They had a job to do, what could be keeping them all from such an important task?

 

With a glance at the clock, Emperor’s left with two choices… And if he was being honest… Prince was here, asleep and safe with doctors ready to care for him at any moment… If there was ever a place to leave him alone, here was about the safest place… And he could always tell N-Pacer and Eging to check up on Prince… The others though, they were a different matter. Something strong had to have a hold over them to keep them from their job. To keep them from getting revenge for the ray of sunshine… They could be in danger. What kind of king allows his subjects to fall to their possible demise without helping?

 

“... Then I had best go with you. We don’t need another missing persons report.”

 

And with that, the pair was off, even if one of them was a bit stunned by the situation… It would be a few hours they’d search for, past nightfall and when the moon was well into the sky. It’s not as if either really minded that though. The concern was finding the missing Inklings and keeping each other safe… Well, that was until a familiar magenta catches the pawns eye as it disappears around the corner.

 

“Wait, Hachi?! Hachi!”

 

While they didn’t know each other particularly well from prior meetings, Gloves certainly knew that the octopus was one of Goggles’ friends, and by extent, one of his own. For the octoling to reappear after so long… It was a suspicious sort of miracle. But it wasn’t something to waste. Dashing around the corner with the king close behind, the green dualie user set his sights on catching up to the strange creature. A couple more turns and he saw the magenta inked being looking around in a confused daze. Slowing his pace to a cautious approach, the gloved pawn tries to get the other’s attention once more.

 

“Hachi…? That is you, isn’t it? Where have you been?...”

 

Turning around with a stunned look, the octopus sees his target standing worriedly not too far away, the king walking to stand next to him with a suspicious glare… The reactions are only natural. Neither knew him all that well beyond a few meetings while he was with Goggles and he had been gone for ages… But that doesn’t matter. Rinse and repeat, he had to lead then down into the Metro too. Goggles was counting on him after all… Shame he seemed to be having some issues finding the S4 though… He’ll just try again later, he can’t disappoint Goggles.

 

“Ah, sorry Gloves! I’ve been busy lately… Been asked to do something for a friend… I can show you if you’d like? I don’t exactly know how to explain it…”

 

A quiet scoff from the king follows the remark. This wasn’t a situation he trusted in the least bit… Frankly, it wasn’t one Gloves trusted either in all honesty. Things have been too odd as of late to trust a comment that suspicious… There’s no reason to trust the Octoling’s words, but there’s no reason to be cruel either as far as Gloves was concerned… Besides, he’d rather not chase him off again, there was already far too many people missing… 

 

“Sorry Hachi, but we really can’t follow… Everyone’s gone missing lately…”

 

“Missing…? Oh! No they haven’t! They’ve been helping me out… Sorry I made it suspicious. I just didn’t have time to explain too much so I kinda just tried to hurry… Want to go see them?”

 

Once again, the whole scenario was suspicious… But what could they do? Hachi knew where the others were and in all honesty, they needed to at least see that they were safe… All they really could do was agree and follow. The gloved pawn casts a glance over to his king. A firm nod decides that they would agree to following the Octoling long enough to see the others. With that, the group sets off, back to the abandoned part of Inkopolis and back to the scene of the ambush… It took Gloves a while to get Emperor to move again when he saw the Octoling enter the gates past the crime scene… He was a bit busy replaying the scene of what happened during their prior visit in his head… But looking around, the area seemed to be deserted. Perhaps those strange looking creatures were stragglers who fell behind… Steeling himself, the king follows the magenta creature with his pawn closely behind. They even followed onto the train the other called… However, the conductor had soon informed the group that there was a passenger waiting for them a couple cars away. With a shared look of confusion, the three make their way to the specified car.

 

“ **Hachi! You’re finally back! Oh, and you have Emp and Gloves! Hi!** ”

 

The teal creature bounces over to the group, an unnaturally perfect grin on his face.  While the octopus smiled back, the other two could only stare stunned as all the pieces fell into place… Of course everyone was missing. Goggles was here, why would they come back up until they could get Goggles there too? But… How was he here? He died, didn’t he? Was this some sort of purgatory between the afterlife and their world?

 

However, the two didn’t stay in such a state for long. They needed to act as if nothing was wrong… Within a moment, the king's regal glare and smirk was back on his face along with the pawn's usual confident smirk… However, both did appear nervous if anyone was paying attention. Luckily the teal Inkling wasn't.

 

“Goggles! How've ya been? And why's everyone camping out down here? Gave us a bit of a fright…”

 

“ **Sorry about that! I just woke up and I was kinda lonely so I asked Hachi to try to get everyone! Tho’, the S4 wondered down here on their own for some reason… Skull probably got lost~** ”

 

A bit of laughter escapes the bubbly Inkling. Gloves can't help but note that it sounds a bit… “forced”. Something was still wrong here… Perhaps it was best to keep their guard up… It seems as though Emperor must be thinking along the same lines when he clears his throat, his expression only changing enough to show that he was questioning something about the situation.

 

“If you don't mind me asking… Where are the others if they're down here? A king must know where his subjects are after all.”

 

“ **That's easy! We're playing cat and mouse! The mice get time to get a head start and hide for a bit until the cats find them and try to catch them! I'm one of the mice so I'm separate from the others!** ”

 

The two share a glance. The excuse was reasonable given who it was from… But something still felt unreasonably off… Perhaps it was the area being unfamiliar or maybe it was how long Goggles had been gone only to come back like this… But something certainly wasn't right. Perhaps they should stay down here for a bit and do some research…

 

“Well then, mind if I tag along until the next round? I can't promise Emp will play but I'll join if I get a feel for the place first.”

 

“Hmph. A king doesn't play such mindless games… He observes them. I'll watch rather than join…”

 

“ **Yay! Our stop is coming up, just follow me, ok?** ”

 

A slight nod from the green Inkling decides their answer. The bubbly Inkling smiles brightly, as unnatural as it looks to the pair. Soon enough, the trap snares them too as they follow the chattering Inkling off the train. Both can only hope they’ll reach the end of this mess soon as the gloomy colors and steel walls appear as some sort of prison to them. The sense of unease only grows as the pair realizes the fate they decided upon.


	15. Trapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally here it is, chapter 15! Thanks to everyone who left so many nice comments and kept up our motivation!

Effective as ever, the trap was still hidden to the eyes of its victims. The Blue Team, along with Rider couldn’t really care to go anywhere else. Hachi no longer had to leave until his friend could, so he wasn’t looking for a way out… Army was suddenly too busy recording information about where they were along with the changes in everyone to really notice he hasn’t seen a way to leave yet. Aloha no longer had any parties to go to, so why bother leaving just yet? He can always rejoin the party later. For Mask, leaving just meant running back to those irritatingly cheerful crowds in Inkopolis while knowing fully well that Goggles was trapped down here. Nothing he wanted to do of course. Skull had nothing to do now. The S4 was down here and Rider was tame, his team was all but disbanded and he should keep an eye on Goggles with how odd he was now… Well, with the fact that he was stranger than usual now.

 

Really, no one had a reason to leave this perfect little trap… No one but two dualie users still watching from the sidelines. Gloves was so sure something was wrong… He needed to get everyone out of here. This place had bad news written all over it… Plus there was Emperor, he had to go visit Prince soon. Who knows how long they’ve been down here? He had to at least help Emperor get out of here if he couldn’t convince the others to leave yet... Thankfully the regal Inkling seemed to understand that he and the green pawn were still in this mess together. While typically impatient, he hadn’t made a single move to leave despite Prince’s condition. Perhaps it could be credited to seeing Goggles once again… But the glances casted to the other dualie user suggested he might be waiting for a more opportune moment for them both to search for a way out.

 

Such an opportunity eventually seemed to present itself as well. Another searching game. Another chance to explore around. Surely they could claim they got lost while hiding, right? So, they may as well look for a way out to use later… But was the exit above them or below them? The train no longer left it’s usual loop. Even Hachi had admitted he didn’t know that the train could leave its typical routes and that being able to call it to pick them up had been a surprising exception to the usual rules. So it was a matter of finding a way out of this giant maze on foot… Easier said than done as expected…

 

How long had their game been going on? Surely it must have been for awhile… Four floors up and dualies still in hand, neither had really found even the slightest suggestion of an exit. It was surprising that they even found a way off the first floor. If it wasn’t for the few fragments of the shattered roof left behind, Gloves surely wouldn’t have noticed the hole above them that they could use to access higher floors… Yet, nothing really changed. Still greyscale, still oddly silent, the only real difference was that there was much less life up here… If you could call the petrified creatures on the Metro “life”. What were they so afraid of anyways?

 

Perhaps that unnatural teal glow that invades their eyes. No one else in this place looked even close to what Goggles now looked like… And Gloves wasn’t stupid. He could see the worried and almost pained looks that were casted to Goggles by some of the people closest to him… At first he only assumed it was from the memories of his death, from the idea that the energetic Inkling was locked down to one place… But the pitiful gazes always settled on that color and even occasionally became fearful of the color… Something was certainly wrong, but it’s not like he could convince anyone but Emperor of that right now. None of them wanted to admit that their friend wasn’t back… Who could blame them really? Gloves would love to join them… But he and Emperor were about the only two rational Inkling’s left out of their group… He couldn’t join their little fantasy. He needed to help them somehow…

 

The silence between the two was almost deafening. Not as if either really minded. Harder to find, harder to be snuck up on and they both had their own thoughts to consider of course… This was all wrong. They shouldn’t be ready to fight back to back at the vaguest sound outside of a turf war… And even then, It would have been unlikely for them to even have wound up on the same team unless something happened to one of Emp’s teammates… Unlikely at best. They shouldn’t be tense enough to be ready to shoot at those vague footsteps behind them- Wait, footsteps?

 

Whirling around, the two dualies barely have enough time for it to dawn on them that they wondered into an ambush before they were forced to dodge. Circling back around to each other, the pair made rather quick work of the first wave of intruders. Only two and they were clumsy at best… Though that only warned them that they weren’t as safe as they thought they were… Especially to Emperor. These beasts again! How many times were they going to plague him?!

 

“Glove, on guard, there’s going to be more of them.”

 

“Eh? Well, yeah,but not ri-”

 

“Soon enough.”

 

“... And how do you know this?”

 

“These are those things that put Prince in the hospital. Now, we had best listen for their cohorts.”

 

And right he was. Soon enough, the pair were thrown into another fight, though again, a relatively easy one given the clumsy movements of these strange beings. Nothing at all like the ones that attacked Emperor and his own team, something the king quickly made note of… Why weren’t they as good? Where they here to wear Gloves and himself down before the actual fighters came in? Did they need to be mostly unharmed for some reason? Exactly what was this place and what the hell was planned for them?

 

It didn’t matter much as they continued. Every few feet forward was another wave of enemies. Even if they weren’t all that good at fighting, the minor damage and energy taken to dodge did eventually add up. Six floors from the start and they had no choice but to turn back upon seeing the tidal wave of enemies waiting for them. Even with as clumsy as they are, hundreds against two was in no way an even match up… Though maybe if the others helped, they’d have a chance… But they weren’t here. They had to turn around before they got themselves killed… Or worse.

 

Though, it became more apparent they were being trapped as they left. With no resistance on the way back it was far too obvious they were being kept in good condition for some reason… That can’t be good… Back down six floors and soon enough, their game was ended soon enough, everyone dragged back to the familiar circular room to sleep… Expect for the dualie users and one other Inkling. Skull was always odd. This was no exception.

 

“So, what happened? You two went missing during that game and seemed concerned about  _ something _ when you got back…”

 

So the purple airhead had known something was up… Was that good or bad? Would he believe them? Then again, would it really hurt to tell him either way? Not as if he could hurt them or sell them out. Goggles would be upset if he did. Eventually the green pawn sighs and begins to speak up.

 

“We were looking for a way out for later. Prince is in the hospital so of course Emp needs to go see him… I think we got close but a bunch of strangely colored… “Octolings” was it?... Anyways, they blocked our way. One hundred against two are bad odds, even if they’re clumsy.”

 

The purple Inkling just stared at the pair for a bit. Of course he didn’t believe them. Why should he? He didn’t see what they saw. All he knew was that Goggles was here. Besides, he’s one of the elites in turf, why should he believe he could be trapped? Perhaps they shouldn’t have said anything…

 

“... I’ll tell Mask, Aloha and Army to check it out with me. Next time we play a game that separates us lead me to wherever you went and I’ll have Army track me with the other two. If we can’t find a way through, at least we’ll be on guard and might be able to tell the others.”

 

“You believe us?”

 

“Something isn’t right here… I’m not sure if I actually believe that we’re being kept here, but it wouldn’t be much of a stretch, so might as well check it out.”

 

“Thanks Skull…”

 

“Mm, don’t thank me yet. Now get some sleep, someone will notice if you don’t.”

 

And with a slight sigh, the two Inklings obeyed… Even if Emperor was reluctant at best to take orders… Wouldn’t be good to start a fight with the people they were stuck with, especially with the one that actually had their team here. Despite still not knowing if it was day or night, the dualie users drifted off, leaving the sniper alone to question what they had all wondered into.


	16. Realization

And so that’s what they did. Perhaps only hours later, perhaps maybe days later, the group split off into the dark depths of the Metro… Well, not quite. Eventually a few of the Inklings made their way back into a group. At first only three Inklings were grouped together. Gloves and Emperor leading the purple squid to where they had first found what seems to be their only exit. Eventually they left him there to play distraction for their unfortunate friend once again…. Eventually, confusedly, three more Inklings joined the first as he waited.

 

“So, exactly what are we doing Skull?”

 

“I’m not entirely sure Army. Apparently someone is trying to keep us here if we try to leave this way…? Guess we’ll see.”

 

“Is this the  _ bee~est _ idea?”

 

“I don’t know. Might as well be sure, right?”

 

“Guess so but I’d like to live, I’m a bit too young to die.”

 

“I doubt you’ll die Aloha. Those two made it back fine, didn’t they?”

 

From there, the conversation drifted off. How ever worried or reluctant they may be, the three Inklings followed their team leader. With his knack for getting lost and the fact that they had already gone through quite a bit of grief from the last death they were forced to live through. Even if they claim to not be friends, even if they claim to not care for each other, there’s surely some attachment there. Perhaps it was forced by their own fear of dealing with such pain and grief again, perhaps it was just something that had almost always lingered that they denied. It didn’t matter as they climbed up the floors of their prison.

 

A similar story took place as the group ventured upwards, though perhaps with a bit more fodder to cut through. A situation that mimicked the tale the two dualie users came back with. Clumsy enemies met the group again and again, slowly wearing them down until they eventually came across the waves upon waves of enemies higher up. The idea of there being hundreds of these creatures could simply be an illusion,but once again, no matter how good they were, what were the odds that they could actually get past so many enemies with just the four of them?

 

“So, we are trapped…?”

 

“Appears so… I don’t have a manual that covers going up against so many enemies…”

 

“You… You have your manuals here? Of all places?”

 

“Of course I do Aloha! Why wouldn’t I? Never know where information will be helpful after all.”

 

“How many do you even ha-”

 

“You are the  _ woo~oorst _ Army.”

 

“Silence, just because people have more motivation to do things beyond eat, sleep, play video games and ruin everyone else’s day, doesn’t mean that’s bad… And I don’t have nearly enough apparently.”

 

“ _ Oo~one more wor- _ ”

 

“Stop your bickering you three.”

 

“Hey! I wasn’t involved in that! I only asked if Army actually had his manuals!”

 

“... You know, it’s pretty pathetic. This is the closest any of us have sounded to “normal” in ages.”

 

And again, the conversation drifts off with a blunt comment from the purple squid. It was odd that only now could they begin to sound normal. Now that they were trapped, now that they’ve seen what everyone’s desperation has led up to, now that they’ve reluctantly been confronted with the fact that they’re blindly allowing themselves to stay in a twisted fantasy. Why only now could they begin to recover from their grief? Surely with everything they’ve been trying to ignore, their problems weren’t over yet…

 

“Well. We’ve seen what we meant to find. Let’s head back. We aren’t getting through here now. We need to talk with the others and see if we can figure this out.”

 

And so, like both Gloves and Emperor, the team was forced to turn back when confronted with the waves of enemies. And, as Gloves and Emperor had noticed, the group took note that there was no resistance as they turned back. They hadn’t actually cleared out all of those creatures on the lower floors, had they? They couldn’t have or they wouldn’t have met any enemies after the dualies had already cleared them out. They were being allowed back. Exactly who was running all of this? Did Goggles know? He wouldn’t help someone trap them here, right? He wouldn’t. The blue idiot might be a lot of things, but intentionally malicious and downright evil? Never. Even if their memories may be a bit contorted by grief, that was a fact. The most malicious the idiot has ever been was his pantsing habit and even then, he was just having fun.

 

Though, they would have to find out for themselves what they could and couldn’t trust. What was actually happening was still unknown to them, though by appearance, it was suddenly much more sinister than it once was… Some of the most well known Inklings in Inkopolis captured and unable to leave with suspicious events taking place as of late. Surely that couldn’t be good. Especially as they were all team leaders. Their teams may be able to function without them but how well would they do in an emergency came up?... It’s best not to think of that.

 

With a renewed sense of caution, the team made its way back to the others with the simple excuse that the purple Inkling had gotten lost. Not as if anyone would question that after the sniper had somehow ended up on top of one of the Square’s statues while looking for the weapon shop of all places. In an entirely new area, why would they question him taking a few wrong turns and ending up somewhere that would take ages to get back from? They wouldn’t and didn’t. They just started up another game and the group decided to meet up with the dualie users.

 

“So…?”

 

“Saw what you meant, no idea why though.”

 

“Yeah, that’s just it, there shouldn’t be a reason for this…”

 

“How  _ dare _ they try to imprison a king…”

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, save your ego for later, we need to figure out how to get out before you start that again. No one is any different right now, we’re all trapped.”

 

“Aloha don’t start problems.”

 

“But-”

 

“No.”

 

“... Fine, sorry.”

 

“Hmph.”

 

A slight sigh escapes the purple Inkling as he slowly realizes he’s going to have to get back into the habit of keeping his teammates in check, especially now… At least they were slowly becoming their old selves again… But was that a good or bad thing here? Who could really tell? They’d have to see as they tried to get out and convince the others to leave. For the time being though,until they could confront the other Inklings without Goggles, they’d have to settle on trying not to get into a fist fight.


End file.
